EVE  wtftfie 
EVANGELIST 


HARRYE.RICE 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


BERTRAND  SMITH'S 

"ACRES  OF  SOOKS'j 

633  MALM  ST.. 

CINCINNATI 


"A  white  beard  that  reached  almost  to  his  waist  half 
ringed  his  intellectual  face." 


Eve  and  the  Evangelist 

A  Romance  of  A.D.  2 1 08 

By  HARRY  E.  RICE 


Illustrated  by 
D.  ORRIN  STEINBERGER 


BOSTON 

THE  ROXBURGH  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
INCORPORATED. 


LIBRARY 

J/fiKYERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


Copyrighted  1908 
By  HARRY  E.  RICE 

All  Rights  Reserved 


CONTENTS 
Chapter 

I  Alice's  "No" 

II  The  Curse  of  Greed 

III  Through  the  Air 

IV  The  Great  Metropolis 
V  A  Slight  Accident 

VI  A  Great  Out-pouring 

VII  An  Old  Letter 

VIII  Race  Over  a  Continent 

IX  Social  Earthquake 

X  A  Correspondent's  Enterprise 

XI  Welcomed  to  Peking 

XII  Battle  of  Wits 

XIII  Under  Mt.  Everest 

XIV  Light  From  Water 
XV  Back  Six  Generations 

XVI  Lost  City  Found 

XVII  An  Experiment 

XVIII  From  Another  World 

XIX  Homeward  Bound 

XX  Despair  and  Hope 

XXI  News  of  a  Day 
XXII  Economical  Measure 

XXIII  At  the  Ball 

XXIV  A  Retrospect 

XXV  When  in  Doubt,  Don't 

XXVI  The  Supremacy  of  the  Law 

XXVII  The  New  Bridge 
XXVIII  An  Age  Ago 

XXIX  Sunday  at  Church 

XXX  Back  to  the  Capital 


CHAPTER  I. 

Now  from  the  world,  sacred  to  sweet  retirement,  lovers 
steal,  and  pour  their  souls  in  transport— Thomson's  Seasons. 

ALICE'S  "No." 

A  weapon  in  the  hands  of  an  enemy  could  not 
have  hurt  me  more.  Alice  Meredith's  answer, 
"No,  I  cannot  marry  you,"  given  as  gently  as  it 
was,  cut  into  my  heart  like  a  scalpel.  In  imagina 
tion  I  felt  an  arthrotome's  cold  edge  for  days  after 
wards. 

I,  Robert  Young,  27,  ambitious  and  a  leader  of 
the  Brotherhood  of  Man,  had  waited  for  months  to 
propose.  I  had  known  Alice  from  babyhood.  We 
had  romped  together,  shared  childish  joys  and 
sorrows  and  later  walked  together  regularly,  side 
by  side,  to  the  Church  Universale.  Once,  some 
times  twice  a  week,  we  had  sat  side  by  side  in  the 
Theatre  Electrique  and  enjoyed  scenes  arid  heard 
the  voices  of  great  cantatrices  or  the  soul  stirring 
music  of  virtuosos  brought  from  cities  sometimes 
half-way  around  the  globe,  while  the  performers' 
figures  cast  by  strong  voltage  on  a  huge  reflector, 
helped  give  us  entertainment  as  perfect  as  if  the 
great  musicians  had  been  before  us  in  person. 

It  is  a  cardinal  principle  of  the  Brotherhood  of 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

Man  that  one  must  be  optimistic.  The  organization 
teaches  that  health,  happiness  and  success  all  de 
pend  on  always  seeing  a  rainbow  ahead.  "Laugh 
and  the  world  laughs  with  you ;  weep  and  you  weep 
alone,"  brought  down  from  the  centuries  past,  is 
our  guiding  motto.  Further,  we  aim  to  remove 
cause  for  weeping. 

When  this  girl  I  adored  added,  I  fancied  plain 
tively  and  therefore  paradoxically,  "I  shall  never 
marry,"  I  was  amazed. 

If  there  ever  was  a  time  for  lovers,  that  was  one. 
I  had  waited  for  what  appeared  to  be  the  most 
opportune  moment  to  press  my  suit. 

Night  trailed  her  lace-like  gown  of  moonlight 
over  the  Earth.  Above  was  a  tiara  of  stars,  be 
low  flickering  lights  in  the  valley.  With  head  and 
feet  illumined  by  flashing  golden  gems,  the  sable 
goddess  moved  slowly  from  the  red  gates  of  sun 
down  to  the  gray  portals  of  morning. 

Her  path  lay  through  glistening  diamonds  of  dew 
and  her  stately  march  was  to  a  sympkony,  in  which 
the  treble  of  the  katy-did  and  the  diapason  of  the 
frog,  blended  in  Wagnerian  harmony.  The  stac 
cato  of  the  night  bird,  the  soft  call  of  the  whip- 
poor-will  and  the  vibrant  hoot!  hoot!  of  an  owl 
punctuated  Nature's  soothing  opus. 

Under  the  shimmering  robe  of  moonlight  lay  a 
chain  of  houses  on  the  white  road.  They  stretched 
away  down  the  river  until  they  were  lost  in  the 
shadows  of  the  hills.  Off  to  the  south  there  was 
the  gleam  of  the  city,  the  hum  of  which  reached 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

us  now  and  then  as  the  breeze  varied.  Alice  and 
I  sat  on  the  long,  low  veranda  of  her  father,  Broth 
er  Abraham  Meredith's  home.  The  scene  before 
us  was  inspiring. 

I  had  feared  her  answer.  Again  and  again  I 
had  postponed  the  fateful  interrogation.  An  oc 
cult  influence  had  oppressed  me.  With  all  of  my 
adeptness  in  telepathy,  I  could  not  learn  the  secret 
of  my  rejection.  Her  answer  had  been  flashed  to 
me  mentally  as  quickly  as  she  had  given  it  orally. 

"Why  will  you  never  marry  me?"  I  ventured. 

"That's  my  secret,"  was  Alice's  sad  and  senten 
tious  answer. 

"But  is  there  no  hope  ?"  I  persisted.  "You  know 
I  love  you  as  I  can  love  no  one  else.  Am  I  doomed 
to  celibacy?  Can  you  not  say  the  time  will  come 
when  you  can  answer  yes?" 

Alice  never  looked  prettier  than  she  did  that 
night.  Her  graceful,  clinging  gown  of  white,  Gre 
cian  in  cut  and  style,  clung  to  her  athletic  figure 
with  such  attention  to  curves,  that  but  for  the  de 
pression  I  felt  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  re 
frain  from  catching  her  in  my  arms  and  almost 
crushing  her. 

Her  hair  was  of  the  yellow  of  the  gold  of  the 
mint.  Rolled  in  simple  classic  coils,  it  gave  her 
the  dignity  and  the  grace  of  the  Kentucky  fillies 
the  past  tells  us  about.  Her  eyes  were  blue  and 
usually  merry  and  her  mouth  until  now,  had,  it 
seemed  to  me,  always  worn  a  smile.  When  she 
laughed  in  that  low,  musical  voice  of  hers,  and  ex- 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

posed  twin  rows  of  perfect  teeth,  I  fancied  (it  was 
an  easy  thing  to  do)  that  she  was  the  natural  evolu 
tion  of  the  houri  of  the  misty  past — the  past  with 
its  horrors,  cruelties  and  perfidies  of  so-called 
civilization.  It,  however,  is  like  everything  else, 
only  comparative. 

Alice's  gown  came  to  within  about  four  inches 
of  the  floor,  forming  the  top  of  a  frame  for  slipper- 
shod  feet,  so  small  and  dainty  they  seemed  fairy- 
like.  The  black  silken  covering  of  the  swelling 
ankles  and  the  spotless  white  of  her  gown,  met  in 
contrast  so  striking  to  the  trailing  and  prudishly 
concealing  gowns  of  two  centuries  ago,  as  pic 
tured  in  yellow  prints  now  in  the  Anthropological 
museum,  that  I  often  wonder  if  it  can  be  true  that 
once  women  by  the  millions,  unthinkingly  carried, 
in  long  skirts,  deadly  germs  into  their  homes,  fre 
quently  to  attack,  sometimes  fatally,  weak  and 
helpless  children.  Today,  severest  punishment 
would  be  meted  out  to  her,  who  knowingly  dragged 
disease  into  her  family. 

We,  the  people  of  this  year,  A.  D.  2108,  learn 
from  our  books  that  it  was  a  custom  also,  two  cen 
turies  ago,  to  compress  the  torso  as  if  in  a  vise. 
The  Caucasian  sought  by  torture  to  get  a  small 
waist,  the  Chinese  small  feet,  the  Alaska  Indian  a 
flat  head  and  the  Ethiopian  a  pierced  nose  or 
punctured  ears.  It  is  a  satisfaction  in  these  days 
of  comparative  perfection  and  unselfishness,  to  re 
call  that  woman's  emancipation  from  the  barbarous 
mandates  of  fashion  took  place  a  century  ago. 


1 1 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

Bless  Dr.  Henry  Baldwin,  of  London,  England, 
who  brought  about  the  reform.  "Fashion's  Fol 
lies,"  written  five  years  later,  tells  how  Dr.  Bald 
win  brought  humanity  to  a  realization  of  the  cruel 
ty  of  Parisian  dictation.  In  all  of  the  principal 
cities  of  the  so-called  civilized  world,  he  had  dogs 
bound  up  in  corsets  and  paraded  through  the 
streets.  The  example  was  effective.  The  press 
took  up  the  subject,  later  the  women's  clubs  and 
finally  the  law  makers.  The  race  has  grown 
stronger  each  generation.  Look  over  the  Brother 
hood  people  and  see  their  perfection,  physically. 
No  more  sickly  women,  no  more  puny  children. 

Alice  might  have  answered  for  an  artist's  model, 
so  perfect  she  appeared  in  face  and  figure.  She 
was  looking  dreamily  down  the  valley.  There 
were  tears  in  her  eyes.  She  turned  her  head  and 
gazed  straight  into  my  face. 

"Wait!  Some  day,  perhaps,  the  cloud  will  be 
gone,"  she  said  slowly  and  measuredly. 

My  heart  gave  a  great  bound.  The  moon 
seemed  to  shine  brighter.  The  houses  in  the  val 
ley  were  plainer  and  the  night  birds'  calls  seemed 
enthusing.  Wait,  yes,  I  would  wait  years,  if 
necessary.  Who  would  not  for  such  a  girl?  I 
would  learn  the  secret  that  barred  me  from  bliss. 

The  deep  boom  of  a  bell  from  the  city  startled 
me.  Clutching  Alice's  hand  in  a  burst  of  passion, 
I  pressed  it,  whispered  good  bye  and  turned  to 
leave. 

"Come  again,"  Alice  sighed. 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

"Yes,  I  will,"  I  answered  feverishly  as  I  hurried 
away.  The  bell  was  the  call  to  the  Great  Council 
hall.  I  must  be  there.  Ten,  accused  of  Greed, 
were  to  be  tried  for  alleged  violation  of  the  Broth 
erhood's  most  stringent  regulation. 


CHAPTER  II. 
THE  CURSE  OF  GREED. 

The  lust  of  greed  succeeds  the  lust  of  conquest.  The  lust 
of  gold,  unfeeling  and  remorseless!  The  last  corruption  of 
degenerate  man. — Dr.  Johnson's  Irene. 

Chief  Patriarch  William  Gladstone  was  address 
ing  the  assembled  patriarchs,  preceptors  and  stu 
dents  when  I  entered  the  hall.  He  had  just  begun. 
He  was  tall,  white-haired  and  rather  spare  in  build, 
and  a  white  beard  that  reached  almost  to  his  waist 
half  ringed  his  intellectual  face.  He  spoke  in  a 
penetrating  bass  voice.  His  manner  and  his  tone 
rightfully  symbolized  power. 

Occupying  a  dais  at  one  end  of  the  large  cham 
ber,  the  Patriarchs  and  the  preceptors  were  ranged 
to  the  right,  left  and  rear  of  him.  In  front  of  and 
below  him  were  the  students.  Of  the  preceptors 
there  were  probably  five  hundred,  and  of  the  stu 
dents  about  five  thousand. 

These  are  indirectly  the  rulers  (the  term  is  some 
what  of  a  misnomer)  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Man 
land,  embracing  all  of  the  country,  originally 
known  as  North  America.  It  is  their  sworn  duty 
to  wage  relentless  war  on  greed  and  to  supervise 
the  education  of  the  youth,  principally  to  the  end 
that  selfishness  may  ultimately  be  eradicated. 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

National  legislation  is  entrusted  to  a  Congress, 
modelled  after  that  of  the  United  States,  save  that 
Senators  are  elected  by  direct  vote  of  the  people, 
and  that  all  law  making  is  of  the  initiative  and  ref 
erendum  character.  The  executive  power  is  vested 
not  in  a  President,  but  in  the  Council  of  Patriarchs, 
made  up  of  men,  who  after  years  of  tutelage,  test 
and  experience,  are  found  best  fitted  for  the  most 
exacting  duties.  There  are  fifty  of  these  patriarchs, 
over  whose  deliberations  Father  Gladstone  always 
presides.  In  addition  to  executive  powers  they 
have  certain  strongly-defined  judicial  powers. 

Love  is  the  basis  of  government,  and  the  theory, 
originally  advanced  that  the  fewer  the  laws  the  bet 
ter,  was  proved  by  time  to  be  correct. 

Off  to  one  side  of  this  great  hall,  in  something 
akin  to  a  prisoners'  dock,  were  ten  culprits.  They 
had  been  gathered  from  different  parts  of  the 
land  by  the  guardian  committees. 

"Stand  up,"  commanded  the  Chief  Patriarch,  ad 
dressing  the  accused,  as  he  himself  arose. 

A  clerk  read  their  names,  John  Johnson  of  New 
York,  Abner  Hardy  of  Chicago,  Wm.  Smith  of 
Louisville,  etc. 

"You  are  charged,"  the  Chief  began  in  slow, 
measured  tones,  "with  greed.  You  know  how  seri 
ous  the  offense  is  considered  here  in  Fratersurb. 
the  capital  of  Brotherhood  land.  (This  city,  for 
merly  known  as  Indianapolis,  was  on  account  of  its 
proximity  to  the  center  of  population,  made  the 
capital  about  fifty  years  ago,  and  the  name  changed 

8 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

to  an  indicative  one.)  I  trust  all  of  you  will  be 
able  to  prove  your  innocence.  You  know  the  pen 
alty,  banishment  to  the  country  of  savages.  We 
consider  greed  like  kleptomania,  a  mental  affliction, 
due  to  centuries  of  unrestrained  liberty  in  im 
proper  channels.  From  the  earliest  time  the  creed, 
'Love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,'  has  been  taught 
but  not  heeded.  Instinct  comes  from  practice, 
Man  first  battled  with  Nature  for  sustenance,  and 
later,  when  the  earth's  population  had  grown  to  a 
billion,  fought  with  his  fellow  men  for  food  and 
shelter.  The  strong  had  much,  the  weak  little.  For 
centuries  mankind  failed  to  guard  against  excesses 
that  sapped  various  nations'  vitality.  History  re 
peated  itself  in  revolutions,  many  bloodless,  each  a 
little  more  violent  than  its  precursor.  It  was  plain 
there  was  something  wrong  with  the  order  of 
things.  All  were  so  busy,  finally,  in  the  pursuit  of 
riches  that  they  were  blind  to  aught  else.  That 
was  in  the  era  of  commercialism.  Men  in  those 
days  fought  like  tigers  for  wealth.  The  greed  for 
gain  dominated  everything  and  everybody.  A  few 
piled  up  great  fortunes,  three  or  four  as  much  as 
four  hundred  million  dollars  each.  They  obtained 
through  perversion  of  natural  laws  money  and 
property  they  could  have  no  possible  direct  use  for, 
all  to  the  disadvantage  of  those  about  them.  The 
most  interesting  volumes  in  our  libraries  are  those 
that  tell  us  of  the  shameful  misuse  of  wealth  two 
centuries  ago,  and  the  waves  of  reform,  one  after 
the  other,  each  a  little  larger  than  its  brother,  that 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

swept  over  the  country  and  ended  finally  in  the  es 
tablishment  of  The  Brotherhood  of  Man. 

"You,  preceptors  and  students,  and  you,  too,  ac 
cused,  remember  that  your  earliest  schooling  taught 
you  to  guard  against  those  national  pitfalls  that 
come  from  allowing  wealth  to  rule.  Now  that  we 
have  reached  a  period  and  have  a  people  of  com 
parative  perfection,  it  seems  almost  incredible  that 
two  centuries  ago  in  the  metropolises  of  the  country 
there  were  single  homes  costing  as  much  as  $2,000,- 
ooo,  often  for  a  family  of  but  three,  and  scores  of 
times  for  but  two,  while  less  than  a  dozen  blocks 
away  were  as  many  as  two  dozen  starving,  illy  clad 
fellow  creatures  crowded  for  the  night  into  one 
little,  foul  smelling  room.  Where  one  man  had  mil 
lions,  thousands  had  but  pennies.  Where  the  few 
hired  ingenious  people  for  liberal  compensation  to 
originate  unique  entertainments  for  themselves  and 
blase  friends,  thousands  led  a  from  hand-to-mouth 
existence  that  often  ended  in  a  despondent  sui 
cide's  grave.  Where  $50,000  was  spent  for  a  single 
house  party,  with  fewer  than  200  people  present, 
an  army  of  unemployed,  some  with  wan,  thin  faces, 
paraded  the  streets  and  begged  for  bread. 

"The  thoughtless  and  careless  rich,  sated  with 
food  and  drink  and  song  and  dance,  reached  the 
climax  of  asinine  effort  by  giving  costly  dinners 
for  beribboned  dogs  or  fashionably  dressed  mon 
keys. 

"  'No  bread  for  the  people ;  let  them  eat  cake/ 
uttered  by  Marie  Antoinette,  was  re-echoed  at  this 

10 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

time  in  the  sardonic  ejaculation,  The  public  be 
damned,'  and  crystallized  in  open  defiance  of  law 
and  ridicule  of  the  courts.  There  was  graft  on  ev 
ery  hand.  Every  avenue  of  life  was  choked  with 
it.  Sordid  men  sold  their  defenseless  brothers  for 
gain.  Misery,  no  difference  how  severe,  received 
scant  attention.  Figuratively,  most  men  seemed  to 
go  about  armed  with  clubs,  striking  down  this  man 
or  that  man  for  pelf.  May  be  the  club  was  wielded 
in  the  stock  exchange,  in  the  grain  pit  or  the 
trust  magnate's  office.  Everywhere  hundreds  of 
wretched  men  fell  before  the  financially  strong. 
There  was  no  remorse.  What  was  done  one  day 
was  repeated  on  the  morrow.  All  that  men  lacked 
to  make  them  beasts  were  hides  of  hair. 

"The  germ  of  reformation  had  been  planted, 
however.  The  sprout  came  up  slowly.  Perhaps  it 
was  at  first  sickly,  but  it  grew  and  finally  budded 
into  the  superb  national  structure  of  today. 

"The  germ  first  showed  itself  in  the  erection  of 
colleges,  hospitals  and  universities.  This  fact  re 
stores  the  conviction  that  there  was  much  latent 
good  in  mankind.  See  what  two  centuries  have 
done.  Dr.  C.  W.  Russell  gave  utterance  to  the 
world's  greatest  truth,  when  he  declared  that  greed 
was  at  the  bottom  of  national  failure.  He  used  an 
apt  illustration  to  point  out  the  way  to  correction 
and  ultimate  perfection.  I  will  not  attempt  to  re 
peat  his  exact  language.  Summarizing  he  made 
the  pointed  declaration  that  the  people  seemed  to 
give  more  attention  to  raising  blooded  horses,  fine 

ii 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

cattle  and  heavy  porkers  than  to  raising  GOOD 
CHILDREN.  Look  at  the  perfection  of  the 
Kentucky  thoroughbred.  All  are  so  much  alike 
in  appearance,  style  and  speed  that  it  is  hard  to  tell 
one  from  another.  Suppose  we  give  the  same 
care  to  the  raising  of  our  boys  and  girls. 

"We  taught  first  above  everything  else,  'Love 
thy  neighbor  as  thyself.'  The  people  were  ripe  for 
such  a  promising  doctrine.  Law  makers  had  be 
come  so  corrupt  there  was  little  hope  at  the  time  in 
legislation.  'Abolish  greed'  was  the  new  tocsin  of 
war  that  stirred  the  millions  as  nothing  had  done 
before  since  the  ringing  of  the  liberty  bell.  Prac 
tically  everybody  took  up  the  new  national  motto. 
It  was  easier  to  push  the  new  dogma  than  might 
have  been  supposed.  People  are  emotional,  period 
ically  awaken  from  an  apparent  trance  and  turn 
things  upside  down.  They  are  always  quick  to  fol 
low  a  new  leader  who  promises  better  things.  The 
Stentorian  cry  grew  to  calliope  volume.  Press, 
pulpit  and  labor  unions  took  it  up.  The  movement 
to  abolish  greed  swept  over  the  country  like  a  sec 
ond  flood.  Nothing  could  resist  its  mighty  force. 
As  hundreds  in  great  revivals  have  stripped  off 
their  gold  and  gems  and  cast  them  before  the  evan 
gelists  to  aid  in  the  promotion  of  Christianity,  so 
thousands  now,  laboring  under  the  conviction  of 
wrong  doing,  turned  millions  into  the  public  treas 
ury  for  the  public  good.  Legislation  that  followed 
did  not  permit  a  single  individual  to  own  more  than 

12 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

$50,000  in  any  form.  Men  were  getting  closer  to 
gether.  Quick  inter-communication  leveled  barriers 
and  tended  to  make  a  billion  as  one  family.  Broth 
erhood,  real  brotherhood,  had  begun.  The  same 
ness  that  results  from  association  developed.  There 
were  id  be  no  more  hopeless  husbands,  wretched 
wives  or  starving  children.  God,  how  was  it  pos 
sible,  thousands  said  in  unanimity,  that  want  and 
woe  had  so  long  been  allowed  to  exist!  Of  course 
it  took  time  for  a  readjustment  of  society  to  the 
new  conditions.  The  changes,  industrially,  morally 
and  politically,  were  revolutionary.  They  were 
bound  to  come.  As  the  people  changed  from  a 
purely  agricultural  nation  to  a  manufacturing  and 
commercial  country,  so  they  changed  from  a  selfish 
mob  to  hosts  dominated  by  love. 

"You  will  recall  that  it  took  fifty  years  to  make 
the  change  and  in  that  time  many  experiments, 
some  failures,  were  made. 

"We  have  passed  through  the  crudities  of  this 
new  existence,  and  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that 
with  a  population  today  on  this  continent  of  nearly 
a  billion  people,  cases  of  the  kind  brought  before 
us  today  are  rare.  I  have  set  forth  all  of  these 
facts  to  keep  them  fresh  in  your  minds.  We  must 
ever  keep  the  doctrine  of  unselfishness  first  in  our 
thoughts.  Prisoners,  you  are  accused  of  doing 
otherwise.  One  is  charged  with  having  double  the 
amount  of  property  allowed  by  law.  That  provision 
limiting  wealth  is,  I  think,  most  wise.  It  is  a  valve 
as  necessary  to  national  safety  as  the  old  pop  valve 

13 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

was  to  the  life  of  the  steam  boiler.  Brothers,  your 
pleas." 

The  venerable  Gladstone  sat  down.  One  by  one 
the  accused  answered  the  charges.  The  crimes 
ranged  all  the  way  from  cheating  a  neighbor  to  try 
ing  to  resurrect  the  trust.  Of  the  ten,  seven  were 
found  guilty  and  were  ordered  deported.  The  re 
maining  three  were  acquitted  and  returned  to  their 
homes.  I  listened  with  rapt  attention  to  the  Chief 
Patriarch's  disquisition,  resolving  all  the  while  ever 
to  keep  greed  from  my  heart.  It  was  with  mingled 
sorrow  and  elation  that  a  little  later  I  accepted  an 
invitation  from  Father  Gladstone  and  his  closest 
advisers  to  leave  with  them  on  the  morrow  for 
Asia  to  help  in  spreading  the  doctrine  of  Brother 
hood.  China,  which  despite  the  strides  made  in 
the  last  two  centuries  in  shaking  off  the  lethargy 
of  an  age,  was  still  years  behind  the  Brother 
hood  land,  and  clung  tenaciously  to  primitive  steam 
railroads,  steamboats,  the  old-fashioned  printing 
press  and  the  telephone. 

Tired  out,  I  soon  fell  asleep  that  night,  to  have 
mingled  dreams  of  my  sweetheart  and  a  journey 
of  but  one  day's  length  all  told  to  Asia.  I  had 
never  made  the  trip.  I  knew  it  would  be  worth 
while.  In  my  sleep  I  picked  out  my  seat  in  the 
huge  projectile  that  would  bear  us  on  our  way.  A 
drop  from  Fratersurb  to  New  York,  another  to 
London,  a  third  to  Moscow,  a  fourth  to  Hunan  and 
a  last  to  Peking.  That  was  the  itinerary  hastily 
given  me  just  before  I  left  the  Council  hall. 

14 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

What  a  contrast  there  would  be  between  the  civ 
ilization  of  today  and  that  of  yesterday ! 


CHAPTER  III. 
THROUGH  THE  AIR. 

"  'Tis  a  very  grood  world  that  we  live  in, 
To  lend  or  to  spend  or  to  give  In, 
But  to  borrow  or  beg,  or  get  a  man's  own, 
'Tis  the  very  worst  world,  sir,  that  ever  was  known." 

— Old  Song. 

When  Robert  Stevenson,  three  centuries  ago, 
invented  the  steam  locomotive,  it  was  justly  con 
sidered  a  wonderful  achievement.  People  who  had 
been  accustomed  to  riding  in  the  slow  stage  coaches 
of  the  period  declared  it  would  be  unsafe  to  ride 
in  the  new  steam  carriages  on  account  of  their 
swiftness,  although  it  was  not  planned  to  run  fas 
ter  than  about  twenty-five  miles  per  hour.  The 
wiseacres  of  England  insisted  that  such  speed 
would  be  intolerable,  because  they  insisted  it  would 
cause  nausea.  When  it  was  originally  proposed  to 
light  London  with  gas,  a  person  of  the  learning,  dis 
tinction  and  experience  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  rid 
iculed  the  project  in  a  letter  he  sent  to  a  friend  in 
The  Highlands,  asserting  that  some  fool  was  trying 
to  light  the  city  with  smoke.  The  printing  press, 
the  telescope,  the  steamboat,  the  cotton  gin  and  oth 
er  inventions  and  improvements  that  have  char 
acterized  the  past,  all  had  a  rocky  road  in  riding 
over  ignorance  and  superstitution. 

16 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

When  Fabrielli,  an  eminent  Italian  engineer,  fifty 
>ears  ago,  proposed  to  shoot  people  with  meteoric 
speed  through  the  air,  the  whole  world  popped  out 
its  eyes  and  said  such  a  thing  was  preposterous. 
"Nothing  of  the  kind,"  said  Fabrielli,  who  for  ten 
years  had  in  secret  conducted  his  experiments  and 
made  his  investigations.  He  forthwith  proceeded 
to  show  the  world  how  it  could  be  done.  A  cour 
ageous  newspaper  man  was  the  only  person  that 
could  be  persuaded  to  make  that  initial  trip  with 
him.  That  scribe,  Charles  S.  Kay,  gained  undying 
fame  by  the  account  he  wrote  of  that  journey  from 
Rome  to  Vienna.  Think  of  making  the  trip  in  ten 
minutes!  How  easy  a  thing  is  after  it  has  once 
been  done !  Fabrielli's  task  after  all  was  easy,  as 
easy  as  that  of  James  Watt,  who  gained  the  idea 
of  the  steam  engine  from  studying  his  mother's  tea 
kettle.  Fabrielli  was  one  day  watching  a  group  at 
the  old  sport  of  archery,  which  at  that  time  was 
undergoing  a  revival.  A  feathered  shaft  shot  with 
unerring  aim  through  the  air.  "That's  it,"  he  ex 
claimed,  and  forthwith  hurried  to  his  workshop.  A 
projectile,  ample  initial  force,  something  like  the 
shaft's  feathers  to  buoy  it  up,  reserve  and  emer 
gency  power,  huge  minite  wings  to  break  the  fall, 
and  the  problem  of  speed  through  the  air  was 
solved.  Minite,  as  is  well  known,  is  the  wonder 
ful  new  metal  that  has  the  lightness  of  cork  and  a 
tensile  strength  100  times  that  of  Bookwalter  steel. 

Fabrielli  utilized  the  discovery  of  Finnsen,  a 
Swedish  chemist,  who,  after  experiments  covering 

17 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

twenty-five  years,  evolved  pulva,  the  Titanic  ex 
plosive  by  the  side  of  which  the  force  of  once  great 
gun  cotton  seems  Lilliputian  in  comparison.  A  tube 
of  minite,  a  charge  of  pulva  and  a  projectile,  and  it 
was  easy  to  fly  hundreds  of  miles  in  a  few  min 
utes.  Fabrielli's  projectile  was  of  minite,  even  to 
the  great  folding  wings.  Suppose  we  wanted  to 
go  from  Fratersurb  to  Salt  Lake  City.  The  cylin 
drical  end  of  the  projectile,  gracefully  swinging 
from  supports,  was  allowed  to  slide  into  the  tube 
of  minite,  after  a  charge  of  pulva,  liquid  in  form 
had  been  placed  in  the  breech.  Pulva  possesses 
several  queer  characteristics.  It  will  not  explode 
unless  heated  to  a  temperature  of  500  degrees 
Fahrenheit.  Under  that  temperature  it  is  abso 
lutely  harmless  and  as  impotent  as  so  much  putty 
Charge  and  projectile  in  place,  a  powerful  electri 
cal  current  is  turned  in  the  breech.  There  is  a  roai 
and  the  projectile  shoots  through  the  air  at  a  speed 
heretofore  undreamed  of.  A  rudder  built  to  meet 
new  conditions  and  new  demands  answers  the 
slightest  touch  of  the  steersman.  Rows  of  minite 
planes  on  each  side  of  the  projectile,  which  is  cigat 
shaped,  serve  to  steady  it. 

Desiring  to  descend,  the  great  wings  are  slowly 
extended  and  the  car  sinks  as  gently  to  earth  as 
the  master  desires.  The  problems  of  friction  and 
air  supply  were  simple  in  comparison  to  the  main 
idea.  At  the  rear  of  the  machine  is  the  brake,  a 
huge  expanding  fan,  circular  in  shape,  used  only 
to  slow  down,  preparatory  to  alighting.  The  reader 

18 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

asks :  "How  was  the  amount  of  power  needed  for 
&  certain  journey  gauged?"  Easily  enough.  Your 
old  histories,  in  elaborate  foot  notes  on  navies,  told 
you  how  the  range  for  big  guns  was  quickly  and 
accurately  found,  and  how  it  was  figured  how 
much  smokeless  powder  was  needed  to  send  a  pro 
jectile  of  say  ninety  pounds  weight  two  miles.  Same 
old  principle.  The  carrying  qualities  of  pulva  had 
been  figured  with  such  accuracy  that  it  was  known 
just  what  any  quantity  of  it  would  do  in  carrying 
a  standard  projectile.  It  was  rarely  an  error  of 
more  than  ten  miles  was  made. 

Next  morning  Alice  was  first  in  my  thoughts.  If 
the  journey  had  been  for  a  long  period,  say  for  bix 
months  or  a  year,  as  would  have  been  the  case  in 
the  days  of  slow  steamboats,  making  at  the  best 
but  22  knots  per  hour,  I  believe  I  should  have 
abandoned  it,  notwithstanding  the  honor  imposed 
in  my  selection.  Going  to  our  communicator,  I 
raised  the  ear  'phone,  asked  for  27,  and  a  moment 
later  Alice's  perfect  reflection  was  on  the  board  be 
fore  me.  "I'm  going  to  Asia,"  I  said.  ''Will  be 
back  in  five  or  six  days." 

"How  nice!"  Alice  remarked.  "I  was  over  last 
month.  Bring  me  back  some  of  those  new  shades 
of  China  silk." 

"Yes,"  I  eagerly  promised.  I  believe  I  would 
have  stripped  the  country  of  silks  at  the  risk  of 
banishment  forever  from  my  native  land  had  she 
required  it.  It  was  then  I  realized  that  I  needed 
to  study  my  anti-greed  lessons  harder. 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

"You  want  to  watch  for  the  first  glimpse  of 
England,"  she  said  solicitously.  "A  blotch  of  sap 
phire,  a  gray  mist,  a  patch  of  green  and  a  mosaic 
mat  and  you  are  over  London.  We  dropped  gent 
ly  alongside  Henley  on  the  Thames,  took  a  pneu 
matic  tube  car  for  the  city  and  two  minutes  later 
emerged  on  the  Strand.  Exciting?  Yes,  if  it  is 
your  first  trip.  Now  let  me  hear  from  you  by  aero 
graph." 

"Yes,"  I  promised,  as  I  said  good  bye  and 
plunged  into  preparations  for  departure. 

One  does  not  need  much  for  such  a  trip.  What 
progress  mankind  has  made  in  transportation ! 
What  would  our  ancestors  who  crossed  the  plains 
in  slow  prairie  schooners  or  came  down  the  rivers 
in  slow  flat  boats  say  to  the  modern  means  of 
travel? 

At  the  projectile  station,  ten  miles  from  the 
Council  Hall,  I  found  my  traveling  companions 
awaiting  me.  The  date  was  June  12,  A.  D.  2108 
The  day  was  clear  and  bright,  and  the  sky  of  that 
faint,  pale  blue  that  induces  dreams.  I  was 
dreaming,  dreaming  of  Alice.  I  could  not  drive 
her  from  my  mind.  Why  had  she  rejected  me?  I 
must  know.  The  suspense  was  maddening.  Would 
the  mystics  of  the  Himalayas  tell  me?  Perhaps.  I 
resolved  to  find  out. 

Much  to  my  surprise  and  pleasure  Alice  was  at 
the  station  to  see  me  off.  Certainly  she  did  not  dis 
like  me. 

"Down  to  see  you  start,"  she  explained.     "It  is 

20 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

always  interesting  to  watch  the  projectiles.  Papa 
says  I  am  scientific,  and  will  some  of  these  days  be 
improving  on  the  present  means  of  travel." 

"Nice  day,"  I  stammered,  the  color  mounting  to 
my  cheeks.  "I  am  all  expectation.  You  know  I 
have  never  been  to  Asia." 

"Beware  of  the  wiles  of  the  Chinese  belles,"  she 
warned  me. 

"They  will  all  be  old  and  ugly  to  me,"  I  insisted 
with  emphasis.  Then  courageously  I  added,  "My 
belle  is  here,"  whereupon  she  blushed. 

Father  Gladstone,  bidding  the  hundreds  present 
good  bye,  stepped  into  the  waiting  car,  and  after 
him  the  third  in  command,  Patriarch  John  M. 
Good.  David  F.  Snyder,  Alexander  C.  McCabe, 
Alonzo  Troupe,  James  V.  Wright  and  James  M. 
Todd,  one  by  one,  filed  in  and  took  seats.  "Ready," 
said  Master  Hiram  Sykes,  and,  taking  Alice  gently 
by  the  hand,  I  bade  her  good  bye.  I  followed  the 
master  into  the  car.  There  was  a  grinding  of  min- 
ite  doors,  the  clutch  of  locks  and  we  were  fast 
within.  Outside  there  was  a  renewed  inspection 
of  the  projectile.  Quickly,  because  I  wanted  to 
keep  my  eyes  on  the  ground,  I  glanced  about  the 
interior.  "Yes,  that  is  the  air  feeder,"  Master 
Sykes  was  explaining.  "See  that  tiny  hole  in  the 
bow?  The  air  all  comes  in  there,  going  through 
the  check  valves.  These  valves  work  automati 
cally,  closing  the  minute  dangerous  pressure  is 
reached.  Steady  now !"  he  commanded. 

21 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

Looking  out  through  the  thick  windows  of  mal 
leable  glass,  I  saw  the  crowd  that  had  gathered  for 
our  departure  some  distance  to  the  right.  Alice 
was  waving  her  handkerchief.  Sykes  had  pulled 
the  switch,  controlling  the  electric  current.  The 
temperature  under  that  pulva  had  already  reached 
probably  300  degrees.  It  seemed  but  a  minute  later 
that  there  was  a  loud  report,  muffled  by  an  inge 
nious  device  filled  with  water.  There  was  a  jar, 
a  hiss  of  air  and  we  were  speeding  toward  New 
York.  I  had  my  watch  in  my  hand.  Patches  of 
green,  light  and  dark,  and  dots  of  brown  and  gold 
darted  under  us  as  if  we  were  riding  over  a  huge 
belt,  moving  all  the  machinery  of  the  solar  sys 
tem.  Six  minutes  and  Pittsburg,  looking  like  a 
dirty  toy  town,  slipped  past. 

Philadelphia,  a  square  of  green  and  black  and 
red,  with  a  silver  hair  running  down  to  the  sea, 
ran  to  us,  stopped  a  second  and  was  gone.  In  just 
1 8  minutes  and  34  seconds  we  were  in  sight  of 
New  York,  with  its  uneven  sky  line,  that  at  first 
looked  as  if  some  child  had  been  scissoring  a  piece 
of  paste  board,  and  left  the  serrated  edges  as  va 
ried  as  possible.  Sykes  and  his  assistant  were  hur 
rying  here  and  there  along  the  whole  length  of  the 
great  rushing,  animate  bolt,  pulling  levers  and 
turning  wheels,  operating  great  screws,  which  ex 
tended  the  wings  and  planes  as  desired.  The  brake, 
at  first  little  larger  than  an  umbrella,  was  now  wid 
ened  to  its  greatest  circle.  The  car  was  hot  and 
somewhat  stuffy.  The  friction  had  been  terrible, 

22 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

but  thanks  to  the  system  of  ventilation  and  safety 
devices,  our  discomfort  was  scarcely  worth  men 
tioning.  I  did  not  notice  how  much  our  speed  had 
been  checked  until  I  again  looked  out.  We  were 
going  not  more  than  30  miles  per  hour. 

Slowly  we  settled  to  the  ground  and  came  to  rest 
in  Central  Park,  with  such  exactness  and  nicety 
that  I  felt  like  hugging  Master  Sykes  in  sheer  ad 
miration.  Crowds  gathered  about  us.  Father 
Gladstone  was  instantly  recognized,  and  hundreds 
rushed  forward  to  grasp  his  hand.  Hurrying  to 
the  aerograph  station  I  sent  this  message  to  Alice : 
"Why  not  have  me?  Don't  conceal  your  reason 
for  rejection.  May  be  the  mystics  of  Asia  can 
help  us." 

Soon  the  answer  came  back.  "Look  for  reply 
at  Peking.  I  love  you." 

Why  did  we  not  hurry?  Why  this  delay  in  New 
York?  So  absorbed  was  I  in  ruminations  about 
the  girl  left  behind  that  the  operator  spoke  to  me 
three  times  before  I  awoke. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  GREAT  METROPOLIS. 

Weep  not  that  the  world  changes — di<}  it  keep 

A  stable,  changeless  course,  'twere  cause  to  weep. 

—Bryant. 

New  York  today  and  New  York  two  hundred 
years  ago!  What  a  difference.  The  city  socially,, 
morally,  commercially,  industrially  and  even  topo 
graphically  was  as  different  as  if  it  had  been  visited 
by  a  giant  cataclysm.  The  frigidity  that  charac 
terized  the  residents  at  the  beginning  of  the  Twen 
tieth  century  had  disappeared.  Snobbishness  was 
an  unknown  misdemeanor.  The  last  man  who 
would  not  give  up  his  seat  in  a  crowded  "L"  train 
to  a  feeble  old  woman  had  long  years  ago  been 
buried.  The  insensate  rush  of  years  ago,  prompted 
by  the  "free  for  all"  for  gain,  being  a  thing  of  the 
past,  men  no  longer  lived  side  by  side  for  years 
without  knowing  something  of  one  another.  No 
man  could  have  the  grief  of  bereavement  and  not 
receive  the  condolences  of  his  neighbor.  The  trust 
baron  and  the  multi-millionaire  land  owner,  the 
latter  receiving  rentals  of  thousands  of  dollars  per 
day,  because  his  great  grandfather  invested  in  real 
estate,  and  then  saw  his  neighbors,  by  their  build 
ings  and  subsidiary  improvements,  enhance  its 
original  value,  finally  a  million  times,  without  an 

24 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

effort  on  the  part  of  the  series  of  holders,  no 
longer  existed  to  ride  rough  shod  over  the  less 
fortunate  or  to  snap  their  fingers  in  the  face  of  a 
court  for  infraction  of  laws  made  by  their  mean 
inferiors,  the  common  people.  Did  not  God  make 
the  land,  the  sea  and  the  air  for  all  of  his  children 
to  share  in  equal  partnership,  the  first  fathers  of 
the  Brotherhood  of  Man  had  argued,  not  with  the 
specious  logic  and  befuddling  cant  of  the  corpora 
tion  attorney,  but  with  the  simple  directness  that 
characterized  the  sermon  on  the  Mount?  Had  the 
divine  plan  been  followed  when  it  was  possible  for 
Henry  Morgan,  the  head  of  the  giant  trust  within 
trusts,  to  have  useless  millions  in  the  banks,  while 
the  little  children  of  his  brother,  so  poor  he  had  not 
even  a  home  of  his  own,  must  at  tender  years  go 
into  the  dark  and  dingy  workshops  or  the  perpetual 
night  of  the  coal  mines  to  toil  incessantly  that  they 
might  have  the  merest  necessaries  of  life? 

Were  men  to  be  no  better  than  the  beasts  ?  Were 
the  big,  strong  bulldogs  of  mankind  to  be  permitted 
to  tear  away  from  the  weak  gentle  spaniels  the 
meat  and  bones  found  on  the  common  wayside? 
Yet  that  is  what  happened,  century  after  century, 
until  the  Brotherhood  began  the  inculcation  of  the 
old  doctrine  of  equality,  heretofore  but  a  beautiful 
theory  no  one  but  ^he  weak  wanted  to  practice.  Re 
sistance  at  first?  Yes,  but  from  the  few — from 
those  surfeited  with  power,  pelf,  position  and 
prominence. 

Who  would  go  back  to  the  old  order  of  things, 

25 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

back  to  the  days  of  poverty,  prison,  poison  and 
presumption  ? 

New  York !  What  a  city  today,  a  city  of  colos 
sal  structures,  containing  the  best  of  everything  in 
art,  science  and  literature,  and  in  practice  the  quin 
tessence  of  Brotherhood  tenets ! 

No  longer  any  necessity  for  man  to  work  twelve  or 
fourteen  hours  a  day  to  support  his  family.  Little  by 
little  the  hours  of  labor  were  reduced  until  an  ex 
pert  commission,  named  by  the  Great  Council, 
found  that  with  the  extent  and  magnitude  of  mod 
ern  inventions,  ramifying  in  every  direction,  five 
hours  labor  per  day  was  ample  for  every  possible 
need  of  mankind. 

There  was  no  more  pushing  and  jostling  in  the 
thoroughfares.  No  one  tried  to  gain  an  advantage 
at  the  expense  of  his  neighbor.  Where  once  brusque- 
ness  prevailed  and  even  dominated,  now  polite 
ness  and  courtesy  ruled.  No  longer  could  the  vis 
itor  say  that  he  felt  a  lower  temperature  the  min 
ute  he  sighted  New  York.  The  Arctic  frostiness 
that  once  formed  a  chilly  ring  around  this  metrop 
olis  had  been  melted  away  by  a  sun  of  warmth, 
geniality  and  comraderie.  Some  men  were  still 
greater  than  others  in  chosen  fields,  but  all  were  in 
touch  with  a  line  of  general  average.  Both  the 
high  and  the  low  of  the  past  had  been  buried  with 
dead  centuries. 

History  tells  that  in  the  so  called  Brooklyn 
bridge  rush  each  evening,  centuries  ago,  women 
with  babes  in  arms,  were  knocked  down  by  selfish 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

men,  seized  with  the  morbid  spirit  of  rush,  charac 
teristic  of  the  times.  A  helpless  child,  caught  in 
this  crush,  was  one  night  knocked  down  and  bru 
tally  stepped  on  by  a  man  who  hurried  on  with  not 
a  thought  for  anyone  but  self.  Commoner  still 
were  occurrences  in  which  parties  of  gay  automo- 
bilists  ran  over  people  in  the  highway,  leaving 
some  maimed  for  life,  and  answering  their  cries  of 
agony  and  distress  with  shouts  of  ridicule.  Busi 
ness  men  of  the  period,  with  undisguised  pleasure, 
exchanged  badinage  about  "skinning"  this  fellow 
or  that  poor  devil,  indifferent  to  the  sorrow  or  the 
woe  caused  the  victim's  family.  Genuine  honesty, 
except  sporadically,  existed  in  name  only.  This  is 
a  fearful  indictment  of  the  past,  but  who  that  has 
studied  the  exact  facts  can  gainsay  it?  The  veneer 
of  beauty  hid  shocking  ugliness.  New  York,  with 
its  busy  marts,  perfection  of  architecture  and  ad 
vancement  and  superiority  in  every  direction  had 
always  appealed  to  me.  I  liked  to  study  this  great 
aggregation  of  human  beings,  working  like  a  col 
ony  of  bees  in  a  huge  hive.  Its  churches,  its  the 
atres,  its  newspapers,  its  transportation  facilities, 
museums,  hospitals,  libraries  and  monuments  al 
ways  had  fresh  attractions  for  me. 

Having  for  a  short  time  taken  up  newspaper 
work  in  my  native  city,  and  having  never  outgrown 
its  fascinations  in  varying  experience,  ranging  from 
one  day  sharing  the  confidence  of  the  Chief  Pa 
triarch  to  making  an  inspection  trip  the  next  day  of 
a  new  pneumatic  tube  service,  capable  of  carrying 

27 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

thousands  of  people  every  minute  scores  of  miles, 
what  was  more  natural,  while  we  were  waiting  for 
Patriarch  Gladstone  to  confer  with  some  of  the 
municipal  patriarchs  than  for  me  to  gravitate  to  the 
municipal  newspaper  office,  issuing  The  Herald, 
published  as  often  as  one  hundred  times  per  day. 
It  was  not  queer  that  the  city  had  but  one  news 
paper  office.  Leading  from  the  publication  plant  to 
the  office  or  the  home  or  both  of  every  citizen  were 
wires,  capable  of  carrying  a  heavy  electrical  cur 
rent.  At  the  newspaper  office  was  the  form  for 
printing,  at  the  other  end  of  the  wire  the  press. 
The  principle  was  an  adaptation  and  a  perfection  of 
the  teleautograph  system  of  sending  pictures.  In 
a  minute  or  even  less  after  an  item  of  news  had 
been  received,  it  was  locked  in  the  form,  which  was 
quickly  applied  to  a  metallic  plate,  given  animation 
by  great  batteries.  A  push  on  a  lever  and  subscrib 
ers  in  their  homes  and  offices  had  a  printed  paper. 
The  tracings  made  on  that  plate  by  muriatic  acid 
were  first  communicated  in  perforations  to  thick 
paper.  This  paper,  pressing  on  a  board  of  delicate 
needles  operated  a  board  of  corresponding  needles 
at  the  other  end  of  the  line.  The  characters  in  the 
form  were  thus  reproduced  with  exactness.  There 
was  no  longer  waiting  hours  for  the  news.  The 
activity  last  week  of  Mt.  Vesuvius,  which  has  been 
quiescent,  comparatively,  since  1906,  was  for  in 
stance  known  by  New  Yorkers  as  quickly  as  by  the 
Neapolitans.  An  electric  spark  from  aerograph 
station  to  aerograph  station,  another  and  another, 

28 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

hurried  composition  in  the  Herald  office,  the  lock 
ing  of  the  form,  the  moving  of  a  lever  and  simul 
taneously  every  citizen  had  a  freshly  printed  pa 
per,  giving  him  the  news.  The  whole  operation, 
performed  with  the  greatest  skill  and  expedition, 
took  but  a  few  minutes. 

The  improvements  made  in  the  art  preservative 
of  all  arts  had  been  duplicated  in  all  fields  of  hu 
man  endeavor.  The  secret  of  life  had  been  discov 
ered,  communication  with  other  worlds  established, 
most  of  human  diseases  conquered,  the  interior  of 
the  earth  reached  in  thousands  of  places  through 
thin  crust  for  perpetual  surface  heat  in  solution  of 
the  fuel  problem,  the  transmutation  of  metals 
brought  about  by  their  reduction  to  basic  elements, 
thus  putting  the  world  on  a  paper  money  status, 
based  on  National  wealth,  electricity  completely 
mastered,  mysteries  of  the  past  probed,  the  civiliza 
tion  of  ancient  Egypt  studied  as  never  before,, 
the  secrets  of  Cheops  and  Gizeh  laid  bare,  the 
Temple  of  Isis  made  to  give  up  its  treasures  of 
history,  and  the  glory  and  splendor  of  ancient 
Thebes  definitely  and  incontrovertibly  revealed; 
and  yet,  notwithstanding  these  advances,  there 
were  great  problems  ahead,  one  the  prospective 
over  population  of  the  earth,  taking  first  place,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  delicately  measured  discovery 
that  the  earth  was  cooling  faster  than  had  been 
computed  a  couple  of  centuries  before. 

Great  New  York!    While  I  busied  myself  in  a 
sociological  and  scientific  study  of  this  mammoth 

29 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

community.  I  longed  for  the  moment  when  we  could 
proceed  and  reach  Peking,  where  a  message  would 
be  awaiting  me.  Hunan  had  not  yet  reached  the 
civilization  of  an  aerograph  station. 

It  is  so  seldom  people  these  days  walk  a  great 
distance  that  I  found  keen  pleasure  in  the  stroll  I 
leisurely  took  from  22nd  Street  up  to  Central  Park. 
We  were  to  leave  at  5  p.  m.  for  London.  So  eager 
was  I  to  be  away  that  I  was  on  the  ground  fully 
an  hour  before  the  time  fixed  for  departure.  Master 
Sykes  was  carefully  examining  the  projectile  as  I 
approached.  I  watched  him  as  he  went  slowly  over 
the  huge  machine.  It  was  in  fine  condition,  he  said, 
and  we  were  sure  of  a  quick  trip  to  London.  Too 
bad  Alice  was  not  with  us.  Why  had  I  not  per 
suaded  Father  Gladstone  to  let  her  go  along?  How 
slowly  the  minutes  dragged !  At  five  o'clock  every 
passenger  was  locked  in  the  projectile,  and  every 
thing  in  readiness  for  our  3,000  mile  dart  over  the 
Atlantic. 

"Our  itinerary  will  be  slightly  changed,"  Father 
Gladstone  announced.  "We  will  make  a  short  stop 
en  route  home  at  a  settlement  of  mystics,  living  un 
der  the  protecting  care  of  Mt.  Everest.  I  have  just 
learned  here  in  New  York  of  a  wonderful  new  light 
and  fuel,  discovered  by  them.  If  my  information 
is  correct,  one  of  the  world's  greatest  problems  has 
been  solved." 

Sweet  music  to  my  ears.  It  was  just  where  I 
wanted  to  go.  There  was  the  usual  loud  pop  and 
slight  tremble  and  we  shot  out  over  the  Atlantic. 

30 


CHAPTER  V. 
A  SLIGHT  ACCIDENT. 


Invention  is  activity  of  mind,  as  fire  is  air  in  motion; 
A  sharpening  of  the  spiritual  sight,  to  discern  hidden  apti 
tudes. 

— Typpers'  Proverbial  Philosophy. 


Barney  Diehl,  Master  Hiram  Sykes'  taciturn  as 
sistant,  was  three  seconds  slow  as  we  approached 
London  in  working  the  system  of  levers  that  open 
the  fan  brake  on  the  projectile.  Before  we  real 
ized  it  we  were  half  way  across  the  tempestuous 
British  channel  with  Calais  in  sight.  I  never  before 
had  seen  a  man  so  watchful  as  Hiram  Sykes.  It 
took,  it  seemed,  but  a  second,  for  him  to  reach  the 
side  of  his  helper  and  take  hold  of  the  levers,  which 
he  handled  with  marvelous  dexterity.  We  settled 
slowly  to  the  ground  near  the  main  quay  of  the 
French  port.  Inasmuch  as  Father  Gladstone  was 
due  for  a  conference  with  London  leaders  of  the 
Brotherhood  movement,  comparatively  new  to  Eng 
land,  we  at  once  resolved  to  leave  our  projectile  at 
Calais  and  hurry  back  to  England  by  submarine 
tube.  It  had  taken  us  61  minutes  and  36  seconds 
to  reach  Calais.  The  journey  was  exciting,  but  not 
nearly  so  stirring  as  was  our  flight  from  Frater- 
surb  to  New  York.  The  difference  was  due  to  the 

31 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

sameness  of  color  that  lay  under  us  our  whole  way. 
Once  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  bright  speck,  flashing 
like  a  diamond,  its  white  on  the  blue  of  the  water. 
I  knew^  instantly  it  was  an  iceberg.  How  small 
it  appeared!  At  the  time  we  were  at  an  altitude 
of  7,897  feet.  The  aerometer  was  about  three  feet 
in  front  of  me  where  I  could  easily  watch  the  hand 
on  its  dial.  The  hand  vibrated  incessantly  as  did 
that  on  a  steam  guage  at  a  test  of  an  exhumed 
steam  boiler,  made  in  the  Fratersurb  School  of 
Technology  last  week. 

Sykes  said  it  would  be  much  more  convenient  to 
go  to  London  by  tube  and  electric  flash  than  to 
make  the  journey  by  projectile.  The  Calais-Dover 
tube  was  completed  158  years  ago.  The  project 
had  been  agitated  for  fifty  years  before. 

As  early  as  1899,  the  plan  had  been  pronounced 
feasible  by  eminent  engineers  and  the  organization 
of  a  company  started.  Unfortunately,  the  project 
was  of  such  magnitude  that  doubting  Thomases 
arose  and  asserted  with  a  great  show  of  scientific 
knowledge  that  such  a  tube  could  never  be  made 
safe. 

It  was  the  same  old  story  over  again.  Every 
great  reformer  and  every  great  inventor  has,  at 
some  period  or  other  in  his  life,  been  called  a  crank. 
In  the  past  any  man  with  a  great  idea  had  to  ped 
dle  it  around  for  years  before  capital  would  come 
to  his  support.  Christopher  Columbus  before  suc 
cessful;  ran  around  all  over  Europe  for  years,  try 
ing  to  find  someone  with  enough  enterprise,  fore- 

32 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

sight  and  capital  to  help  him  discover  America.  He 
was  offering  the  world  for  a  song  a  continent  worth 
now  billions  of  dollars.  Unhappy  has  been  the  fate 
too  often  of  those  who  have  tried  to  do  something 
for  the  good  of  mankind. 

Taking  the  gravity  lift  at  the  entrance  to  the 
tube,  we  dropped  down  2,293  feet,  climbed  with 
1,200  other  passengers  into  the  long,  cylindrical 
car,  heard  the  guards'  final  injunction,  "All  aboard," 
given  in  musical  French,  felt  a  jar  as  compressed 
air,  to  the  pressure  of  3,000  pounds  to  the  square 
inch,  struck  us  and  a  moment  later  were  gliding  or 
rather  sliding  through  that  long  black  pipe  to 
Dover.  The  air  was  as  fresh  as  if  we  had  been  in 
a  hay  field  in  Lancashire  on  a  bright  June  morning. 
The  problem  of  air  supply  under  such  conditions 
had  been  solved  a  couple  of  centuries  before.  Elec 
tric  lights  made  our  car  as  bright  as  day.  The 
passengers  represented  all  nationalities.  On  board 
was  a  Chinese  mandarin,  clad  in  a  Parisian  suit, 
and  minus  pig  tail.  Four  hours  before  he  had  been 
at  his  home  in  Peking.  A  patriarch  from  New 
Zealand,  where  the  Brotherhood  germ  was  born, 
sat  next  to  me,  and  in  the  few  minutes  we  had 
together,  descanted  instructively  on  the  first  days 
of  The  New  Life  in  that  far  off  land.  His  name 
was  Lawrence  M.  Harris.  He  was  of  generous 
proportions,  having  a  rolly-polly  figure,  a  round 
fat  face  and  a  merry  twinkle  in  his  eyes.  In  ap 
pearance  he  was  the  embodiment  of  the  Brother 
hood  idea.  I  would  have  staked  my  all  on  that 

33 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

man's  goodness  and  unselfishness.    When  he  spoke 
all  of  those  around  him  paused  and  listened. 

"You  will  recall,"  he  said,  "that  the  idea  of  gov 
ernment  ownership  had  its  first  really  successful 
test  in  New  Zealand.  In  extending  the  idea,  it  was 
our  plan  to  eliminate,  as  far  as  possible,  human 
suffering.  We  endeavored  to  place  men  as  nearly 
as  possible  on  an  equality.  It  had  been  said 
with  much  fidelity  to  truth  all  man  needed  was 
opportunity.  Our  laws  had,  through  selfish 
ness,  been  so  administered  that  opportunity 
was  for  the  few.  While  not  trying  to  limit 
human  ambition,  we  did  try  and  sucess fully,  too, 
to  lift  up  the  poor  and  the  unfortunate;  in  other 
words  to  bring  men  in  a  material  sense  closer  to 
gether.  It  was  natural  for  the  purse  proud  of  our 
own  and  other  lands  to  sneer  at  us.  Whenever 
some  new  plan  was  proposed,  having  for  its  sole 
object  the  ameloriation  of  mankind,  the  selfish, 
augmented  by  a  plutocratic  press,  found  it  easy  to 
sneer  at  us  and  refer  to  us  as  visionaries.  Who 
does  so  now?  Why  when  the  American  colonies 
wanted  to  break  away  from  aristocrat-ruled  Eng 
land  and  establish  a  Republic,  when  Thomas  Jeffer 
son  drafted  that  immortal  document,  beginning 
'When  in  the  course  of  human  events/  and 
when  that  cracked  old  bell,  bearing  the  inscrip 
tion  'Proclaim  liberty  unto  all  the  inhabi 
tants  thereof/  sent  in  hoarse,  sonorous  tones 
its  message  that  eventually  went  clear  around  the 
globe,  there  were  the  same  old  sneers.  The  Rev- 

34 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

olutionary  army  was  referred  to  as  a  band  of  rag- 
muffins  and  the  prediction  made  that  that  mob  of 
rebels  would  soon  be  driven  into  the  sea  by  the 
King's  own  red  coats.  King,  indeed!  To  think 
that  our  forefathers  were  ruled  by  a  king,  a  man 
often  of  the  meanest  qualities,  profligate,  licentious 
and  arrogant  and  usually  the  personification  of  self 
ishness — a  king  who  made  war,  brought  sorrow 
and  woe  to  thousands  of  homes,  often  at  some 
childish  whim  and  now  and  then  at  the  caprice  of 
some  pampered  favorite.  The  divine  right  of 
kings.  That  pernicious  doctrine  that  could  prevail 
only  through  general  ignorance  was  finally  shattered 
by  the  bomb  of  general  enlightment.  Then  came 
the  rule  of  class  or  aristocracy  in  different  forms, 
with  all  of  its  specious  claims  to  prerogatives.  All 
of  the  time,  the  doctrine  of  equality,  that  really 
found  its  first  expression  in  the  pronunciamento  of 
the  golden  rule,  was  hidden  or  badly  obscured  by 
the  dust  kicked  up  legislatively  by  the  hunters  for 
special  privileges. 

"I  was  never  and  am  not  now  an  advocate  of  so 
cialism  but  instead  am  for  the  practice  of  those 
commandments  laid  down  in  the  Old  Testament 
and  reiterated  in  the  simple  rules,  given  out  by  that 
greatest  of  teachers,  Jesus  Christ.  We  have  aimed 
to  make  all  men  happy  and  we  have  done  so.  We 
call  it  individualism  limited. 

"We  opened  our  larder  not  alone  to  the  big, 
strong  fellow,  clothed  with  presumption  and  hav 
ing  a  heart,  every  throb  of  which  was  to  the  dis- 

35 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

cordant  music  of  selfishness,  but  to  all  alike.  We 
saw  that  the  little,  weak  fellow  got  as  much  as  the 
big  fellow.  Isn't  the  world  a  great  deal  better  as 
a  result?  Who  would  again  have  the  rule  of  the 
classes?  The  success  of  our  experiment  is  appar 
ent  on  all  sides.  Even  the  slow,  sleepy  Chinese  are 
preparing  to  adopt  Brotherhood  ideas.  The  day  of 
one  big  fellow  and  thousands  of  little  ones,  meas 
ured  in  money  and  opportunity  for  happiness,  is 
past.  I  believe  the  future — " 

Just  then  the  philosopher  caught  a  glimpse  of 
Father  Gladstone  and  hurried  to  his  side.  While 
they  were  engaged  in  animated  conversation,  there 
was  a  perceptible  slowing  down.  A  few  moments 
later,  the  doors  were  opened  and  the  guards  shouted 
"All  out  for  Dover."  The  subterranean  trip  had 
taken  just  12  minutes.  Prof.  Nichelson,  whom  I 
joined  on  the  lift,  explained  that  the  journey  could 
be  made  in  five  minutes,  but  for  the  time  necessi 
tated  in  slowing  down.  "A  commission  of  engin 
eers,'*'  he  continued,  "is  now  working  on  a  project 
to  reduce  the  crossing  time  by  at  least  two  minutes. 
It  has  already  been  computed  this  can  be  done  by 
a  general  overhauling  and  the  installation  of  cars 
of  a  new  and  improved  type.  The  cost  will  be 
close  to  7,000,000  pounds  sterling/' 

Father  Gladstone  and  the  stranger  from  the  An 
tipodes  went  out  together  and  walked  away,  arm 
in  arm.  All  of  the  time  they  were  engaged  in 
earnest  conversation.  I  followed  closely  at  their 
heels,  with  Master  Sykes  at  my  side,  and  the  others 

36 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

of  our  party  trailing  in  the  rear.  It  was  but  a  few 
steps  to  the  moving  sidewalk  that  led  to  the  escal 
ator.  The  outer  sidewalk  was  turning  at  the  rate 
of  three  miles  an  hour,  the  inner,  the  fifth  from 
the  outside,  at  thirty  miles  an  hour.  Crossing  to 
the  inner  one,  it  took  us  but  five  minutes  to  reach 
the  escalator,  which  quickly  landed  us  at  the  Elec 
tric  Flash  Ry.  Co.  station. 

A  train  for  London  was  waiting.  Five  minutes 
from  Dover  to  London  would  have  been  pro 
nounced  silly  two  centuries  ago.  'Now  the  whole 
road's  engineering  force  is  trying  to  reduce  the 
time  to  four  and  one  half  minutes.  In  London  a 
pneumatic  tube  car  carried  us  from  the  railroad 
station  to  Trafalgar  Square.  All  London,  now  a 
city  of  five  millions  of  souls,  was  as  busy  as  usu 
al.  It  has  not  grown  much  in  the  last  couple  of 
centuries,  owing  to  the  desire  of  so  many  of  its  in 
habitants  to  live  in  the  country.  Quick  transpor 
tation  has  given  the  suburban  population  practic 
ally  as  many  advantages  as  the  city  itself  enjoys. 
Result,  many  small  farmers,  each  an  intensive  ag 
riculturist.  On  an  acre,  one  easily  makes  a  hand 
some  living.  Electrical  propogation  of  plants  and 
cereals  has  solved  one  of  the  problems  that  for  a 
while,  owing  to  the  rapid  increase  in  population, 
staggered  mankind.  Large  farms  are  seldom  found 
these  days.  It  seems  that  no  problem  arises  that 
is  not  finally  mastered  by  man. 

Motor  cars,  built  on  the  principle  of  the  duck, 
carried  us  to  the  International  Hotel.  These  cars 

37 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

run  over  the  land,  float  on  the  water  or  fly  through 
the  air.  It  was  Dr.  Salathiel  Olinger,  who  in  1962, 
solved  the  problem  that  had  vexed  mankind  from 
the  days  of  the  Montgoflier  Bros/  first  balloon.  He 
had  watched  the  wild  duck  and,  from  his  continued 
observations  and  studies,  gave  the  world  the  first 
practical  flying  machine,  that  is  a  machine  of  com 
mercial  value.  There  had  been  numerous  flying 
machines  in  the  market  years  before,  including 
those  designed  by  Santos  Dumont,  a  Frenchman, 
the  Wright  Bros.,  Americans,  and  scores  of  others. 
All  of  these  had  points  of  excellence,  but  still 
lacked  the  one  requisite,  practicality. 

At  the  International,  covering  two  acres  of 
ground  and  extending  500  feet  in  the  air,  there 
were  accommodations  for  10,000  guests.  It  was 
owned  by  a  great  co-operative  company  and  for 
five  years  had  been  paying  annual  dividends  of  7 
per  cent.  The  new  caravansary,  the  Astor,  now 
building  in  New  York,  will  outrival  it  two  to  one, 
as  the  contract  calls  for  rooms  for  20,000  people. 
Still,  today,  as  yesterday,  Johnny  Bull  tries  in  vain 
to  get  ahead  of  Uncle  Sam,  Uncle  Sam  as  he  lives 
in  the  new  idea,  a  greater,  stouter,  warmer  hearted 
Uncle  Sam  than  his  prototype  of  two  centuries  ago. 

I  had  never  before  been  in  the  International,  al 
though  most  of  our  party  had.  Hiram  Sykes  had 
been  stopping  at  the  place  once  a  week  for  five 
years.  I  was  assigned  to  a  room  in  the  2ist  story. 
I  breathed  filtered  and  purified  air,  wholly  free 
from  dust  and  disease  germs.  The  floor  was  of 

38 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

tile,  with  rugs  spread  about.  Each  room  contained 
not  only  a  communicator  of  an  improved  type,  but 
an  aerograph,  the  latter  an  evolution  of  wireless 
telegraphy.  By  moving  a  hand  on  a  dial  and  fast 
ening  it  with  a  set  screw,  any  desired  temperature 
could  be  automatically  maintained  in  the  room  for 
an  indefinite  time.  There  was  not  a  single  conven 
ience  lacking.  If  one  desired  it,  a  motor  car  would 
come  to  his  window.  A  pressure  on  the  indicator, 
at  the  point  marked  motor  car,  did  it.  A  journey 
over  London  at  one's  leisure,  a  trip  under  the  sur 
face  of  the  Thames  or  an  ascension  of  two  miles  to 
the  frigid  inter-planetary  station,  were  all  within 
easy  reach. 

All  about  there  were  happy  people.  No  more 
White  Chapels,  and  no  more  conditions,  productive 
of  such  quarters.  The  Brotherhood  idea  had  al 
though,  in  its  infancy,  truly  made  great  progress 
in  England.  A  sudden  whim  seized  me.  Why  not 
call  up  Alice  by  communicator?  The  aerograph 
was  not  necessary  and  besides  was  comparatively 
cold  and  unsatisfactory.  The  old  telephone  that 
first  would  carry  but  300  feet,  had,  year  by  year, 
been  improved  until  finally,  in  1904,  it  was  called 
a  great  triumph  when  it  was  possible  to  talk  be 
tween  Boston  and  Omaha.  A  few  years  later  the 
metal  sounding  board  (the  idea  was  gained  from 
studying  an  old  Stradivarius  violin)  was  introduced 
with  the  result  that  one  could  with  ease  talk  from 
San  Francisco  to  New  York  City.  Little  by  little 
more  improvements  were  made  until  talking  under 

39 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

the  ocean's  surface  became  an  actuality.  Another 
dream  of  the  past  had  been  realized.  The  business 
over  the  fifty  communicator  lines  that  stretch  from 
London  to  'N;ew  York  is  of  such  volume  that  one 
has  to  take  his  turn  waiting.  I  grew  impatient  after 
a  delay  of  an  hour  and  was  ready  to  excoriate  the 
directors  of  the  International  Communicator  Co. 
for  not  providing  better  facilities,  when  there  was  a 
melodious  ringing  at  my  right  and  I  pulled  down 
the  ear  phone,  made  perfect  years  before.  I  had 
gotten  Alice's  home  in  Fratersurb.  Instead  of  Alice 
there  was  the  reflection  of  her  portly  mother  before 
me. 

"You  want  Alice?"  she  asked.  "Alice  is  down 
at  the  library.  She  is  much  interested  in  the  occult 
and  is  studying  an  old  work  by  a  Brahmin  priest — 
something  about  reincarnation." 

"Tell  her,"  I  said,  trying  hard  to  conceal  my  dis 
appointment,  "not  to  forget  to  let  me  hear  from 
her  at  Peking." 

"Yes,"  was  the  answer  and  the  figure  in  the  re 
flector  vanished. 

A  moment  later  Father  Gladstone  notified  me  he 
wanted  to  see  me  about  the  great  mass  meeting  to 
be  held  that  night  in  Victoria  hall,  an  auditorium 
capable  of  accommodating  200,000  people. 


40 


CHAPTER  VI. 
A  GREAT  OUTPOURING. 


Nature  in,  her  productions,  slow  aspires, 
By  just  degrees  to  reach  perfection's  height. 
— Somerville's  Chase. 


Naturally  Father  Gladstone  was  the  cynosure  of 
all  eyes  at  the  Victoria  Hall  meeting.  The  audi 
torium  was  filled  to  the  outer  rim.  Interest  was 
keen,  and  as  was  expected  the  auditors  hung  on 
every  word  uttered  by  the  eminent  men  present. 
Wm.  B.  Rodgers,  head  of  the  London  city  council, 
presided.  That  duty  would  have  fallen  to  the  Lord 
Mayor  but  for  the  fact  that  his  office,  which  for 
centuries  had  allowed  some  one  to  parade  annually 
in  great  state,  had  years  before  been  abolished. 
The  last  Lord  Mayor  was  deposed,  co-incident  with 
the  fall  of  royalty  and  the  disavowal  of  preroga 
tives  for  so  called  nobles.  The  republic,  modeled 
exactly  after  that  which  had  given  the  United 
States  a  foremost  place  in  the  world,  had  thrived 
like  the  proverbial  green  bay  tree.  It  gave  way  to 
Brotherhood  sway,  which  after  all,  is  a  republic 
perfected.  Rule  by  royalty  was  at  this  time  a  thing 
of  the  past  in  all  Europe.  Russia  was  the  first  to 
declare  for  individual  freedom,  the  declaration  com- 

41 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

ing  twelve  years  after  the  conclusion  of  the  Russo- 
Japanese  war.  The  aristocracy,  which  was  synony 
mous  with  bureauacracy,  had  vainly  tried  by  the  old 
methods  of  iron  rule  to  keep  the  people  in  subjec 
tion.  Little  by  little  the  Grand  Dukes  and  their 
army  of  sycophants  were  shorn  of  power.  Final 
political  emasculation  came  when  Czar  Nicholas 
made  a  third  unsuccessful  attempt  to  reassert  his 
so-called  "divine  rights."  Orders  issued  to  the 
army  and  navy  fell  on  deaf  ears.  The  soldiery  and 
sailors  were  honey  combed  with  sedition,  fanned 
by  great  stacks  of  literature,  circulated  despite  the 
activity  of  the  Grand  Duke's  agents,  edicts  issued 
from  St.  Petersburg  and  loud  claims  made  by  blus 
tering,  bewhiskered  martinets  in  the  uniforms  of 
generals.  The  crisis  came  on  that  memorable  night 
in  May,  1916,  May  16,  to  be  exact,  when  the  Grand 
Dukes  issued  orders  through  the  weak  Czar  for  the 
prohibition  of  Revolutionary  meetings,  called  for 
that  night  in  every  city  of  note  in  the  Empire.  Reg 
iment  after  regiment  of  soldiers,  many  from  Cron- 
stadt,  was  sent  into  the  streets  of  St.  Petersburg, 
with  orders  to  prevent  the  meeting  arranged  for 
that  city,  no  difference  what  the  cost  might  be.  The 
troops  were  ordered  to  charge  the  crowds  and  clear 
the  thoroughfares.  Not  an  order  was  obeyed. 
Even  the  long  relied  upon  Cossacks  were  seized 
with  the  spirit  of  mutiny.  Company  after  com 
pany  of  soldiers  joined  the  Revolutionists.  Fear 
ing  their  lives  were  in  danger,  the  few  officers  that 

42 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

remained  loyal  to  Nicholas  hurried  back  to  the  pal 
ace  to  find  Nicholas,  long  weak  minded,  a  mum 
bling  paretic.  That  night  the  republic  was  pro 
claimed.  Thousands  swore  to  uphold  the  new  form 
of  government.  M.  Witte,  elected  the  first  presi 
dent,  proved  worthy  of  the  confidence  reposed  in 
him,  and  like  George  Washington,  wisely  refused  a 
third  term.  The  lamp  of  liberty  thus  lighted,  to 
use  a  choice  expression  from  the  speech  of  an  early 
American  orator,  Patrick  Henry,  he  of  House  of 
Burgesses  fame,  kindled  the  conflagration  that 
spread  all  over  Europe,  and  resulted  in  the  incin 
eration  of  monarchical  rule.  Germany  was  one  of 
the  last  to  fall  in  line,  the  conservatism  of  her 
worthy  people  being  a  bar  to  hasty,  ill  advised  or 
abortive  action.  Kaiser  Wilhelm,  being  a  ruler  of 
keen  perceptive  faculties,  gracefully  abdicated. 
While  inwardly  raging  he  appeared  so  indifferent 
that  it  was  somewhat  paradoxical  that  the  people 
chose  him  for  their  first  president.  He  ruled  wise 
ly  and  justly  in  this  capacity,  making  a  record 
somewhat  akin  to  that  left  by  President  Roosevelt 
of  the  United  States.  Thus  was  the  question  of 
lese  majeste,  together  with  others  of  equal  import 
ance,  peremptorily  settled.  The  change  in  Eng 
land  from  monarchical  rule  to  republican  sway 
came  while  King  Edward  was  still  on  the  throne. 
He  had  been  near  death  several  times.  When  the 
crisis  came  he  had  "no  fight  left  in  him,"  selecting 
a  term  from  the  parlance  of  the  old  prize  ring.  Ire 
land  was  at  last  free. 

43 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

A  large  chorus  choir  occupied  the  rear  of  the 
immense  stage,  decorated  with  the  banners  of 
Brotherhood,  showing  clasped  hands  on  a  field  of 
blue. 

The  song,  "One  for  All  and  All  for  One,"  was 
sung  with  a  fervor  that  enthused  clear  back  to  the 
rear  tier  of  seats  in  the  great  gallery.  '  'Equal  Op 
portunity  for  All,"  and  other  songs  of  as  much 
strength  received  salvos  of  applause.  Father  Glad 
stone  was  greeted  with  cheers  that  made  the  welkin 
ring.  There  was  fugue  after  fugue  of  applause. 
The  greeting  was  of  such  tremendous  proportions 
as  to  be  disconcerting.  When  order  had  been  re 
stored  Father  Gladstone  began  his  discourse  in 
plain,  terse  language.  The  acoustic  properties  of 
the  building  were  so  perfect  that  those  farthest 
away  from  the  stage  had  no  difficulty  in  following 
him.  It  is  impossible  in  the  limited  confines  of  this 
work  to  give  a  verbatim  report  of  his  address.  He 
was  listened  to  with  rapt  attention  from  the  calm 
exordium  to  the  ringing  peroration.  Among  other 
things  he  said  (I  aim  herein  to  give  his  most  sali 
ent  sentences)  :  "I  could  never  reconcile  myself 
to  the  belief  that  God  intended  that  a  few  should 
be  very  rich  and  the  many  very  poor.  In  the  past 
some  have  been  born  strong  and  many  very  weak. 
The  strong  have  taken  from  the  weak.  .'Leg 
islation  in  many  cases,  legislation  that  was  veiled, 
was  used  as  an  instrument  for  the  perpetuity  of 
the  plan  that  for  years  saw  the  rich  growing  richer 
and  the  poor  poorer.  It  was  all  contrary  to  the 

44 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

teachings  of  the  Master.  Now  and  then  some  sleek, 
well  fed  parson,  having  a  congregation  of  aristo 
crats,  defended  the  system.  He  was  always  patted 
on  the  back  for  doing  so,  and  now  and  then  had  a 
liberal  salary  increased.  All  of  this  time  many 
good  men  were  preaching  and  practicing  right,  and 
to  those  men  we  owe  much.  What  is  our  object? 
To  bring  all  possible  happiness  to  the  human  race — 
that  and  nothing  more.  We  argued  that  men  are 
and  of  right  ought  to  be  brothers.  We  contended 
that  men  should  not  be  ruled  by  selfishness.  Why, 
two  centuries  ago,  Brothers,  that  ignoble  quality 
dominated  the  world.  It  was  everywhere  in  evi 
dence.  Various  expedients  had  been  resorted  to 
to  curb  the  power  and  influence  of  organized  plu 
tocracy.  The  income  tax  was  one  of  these.  Those 
of  you  who  are  fond  students  of  history  will  re 
call  how  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
within  30  years  reversed  its  opinion  on  the  consti 
tutionality  of  that  measure.  That  income  tax  was, 
by  the  way,  one  of  the  first  steps  toward  the  es 
tablishment  of  Brotherhood.  It  was  recognition  by 
the  people,  through  the  constituted  authorities,  of 
a  menace  to  the  national  safety.  One  safeguard 
after  another  was  proposed,  but  often,  for  many 
years,  the  power  of  corporate  wealth  was  too 
strong  for  material  advancement.  The  proposition 
to  limit  individual  wealth  was  first  prominently 
proposed  about  the  year  1900.  The  world  was  not 
at  that  time  ready  for  the  new  doctrine,  although 

45 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

it  had  the  example  of  a  man  of  65  years  accumu 
lating  a  fortune  of  $400,000,000,  or  almost  $7,000,- 
ooo  per  year,  counting  childhood.  It  takes  a  gen 
eration  often  to  educate  a  people  to  what  is  best  for 
them.  The  education  was  slow  but  certain.  Mul- 
tum  in  parvo.  The  income  tax  was  a  small  begin 
ning.  It  was  followed  by  the  advocacy  without  suc 
cess,  by  Theodore  Roosevelt,  one  of  the  American 
presidents,  of  the  so-called  progressive  tax. 

"The  foundations  had  been  laid,  however,  and 
finally  the  change,  welcome  change  that  it  was, 
came,  and  along  with  it  the  idea  of  trying  to  make 
mankind  more  alike,  to  bring  all  people  nearer  to  a 
general  average.  We  still  have  much  more  to  do 
along  this  line  through  the  medium  of  our  educa 
tional  institutions.  We  have  made  such  advances 
in  that  direction  that  ultimate  success  is  assured. 
You  Brothers  of  England  have  made  a  promising 
beginning.  Watch  your  children.  Keep  to  the  fore 
the  doctrine  of  unselfishness.  Where  greed  once 
dominated  mankind,  now  let  love  take  its  place. 
We  are  all  more  alike  than  was  originally  claimed. 
All  that  was  needed  was  a  new  national  standard, 
made  prominent  for  years,  to  bring  about  volun 
tary  submission  to  it,  and  finally  veneration.  A 
nation  usually  has  some  dominant  characteristic, 
due  to  long  pursuance  of  an  ideal.  For  instance  an 
cient  Athens  ran  to  art.  It  was  the  national  ideal 
and  desideratum.  Ours  is  unselfishness.  Inculca 
tion  of  any  doctrine  by  the  great  mass  of  the  people 
is  bound  in  time  to  affect  the  minority.  Man  is 

46 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

such  a  creature  of  environment  that  he  is  quick  to 
adjust  himself  to  new  conditions. 

''The  minute  we  made  selfishness  a  crime,  that 
minute  hundreds  were  brought  into  disrepute. 
There  are  few  men  that  can  stand  up  unaffected 
before  the  finger  of  public  scorn.  Years  ago  when 
a  swell  went  from  the  so-called  effete  East  to  a 
frontier  town,  he  quickly  found  that  his  silk  tile 
and  his  'boiled'  shirt  were  not  'healthy.'  The  swell 
quickly  changed  to  a  whole  souled  frontiersman, 
affected  the  vernacular  of  the  border,  and  within 
two  years  was  as  ready  with  jibe  and  jest  to  hu 
miliate  one  fresh  from  the  East  as  his  companions 
had  been  to  ridicule  him.  Such  are  the  possibili 
ties  of  change  and  environment.  Public  censure 
and  public  ridicule  helped  us  vastly  in  the  first 
stages  of  the  establishment  of  Brotherhood  rule. 
By  making  unselfishness  our  ideal,  and  by  cease 
lessly  promulgating  that  ideal,  we  in  time  displaced 
the  old  regime.  Result,  a  better  and  happier  people. 
No  more  paupers  and  a  suicide  almost  unheard  of. 
We  expect  in  the  next  century  to  make  still  fur 
ther  advancement.  We  want  you  to  be  firm  in 
your  adherence  to  the  new  doctrine.  Our  example 
and  our  success  should  ever  inspire  you  to  tireless 
work  for  the  general  good.  Brothers,  in  conclu 
sion,  let  me  admonish  you  to  abjure  selfishness. 
Consider  it  the  greatest  evil  you  can  harbor,  for 
from  it  spring  all  other  evils.  Practice  the  golden 
rule  and  grow  great  as  real  Brothers." 

Other     addresses    followed.     Wing    Tan    Fing, 

47 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

from  Peking,  China;  Senor  Manuel  Rosa,  from 
Seville,  Spain ;  Herr  Johann  Schmidt,  from  Berlin, 
Germany;  Victor  Tolstoi,  from  Moscow,  Russia, 
and  Monsieur  Alphonse  Martens,  from  Paris,  all 
devoted  adherents  to  Brotherhood  ideas,  spoke  in 
turn,  each  bringing  out  some  new  point  of  value  to 
the  Brotherhood.  It  was  almost  midnight  when 
the  meeting  adjourned  after  appointing  committees 
to  take  up  some  new  features  of  Brotherhood  work. 
It  did  not  take  long  that  night  for  me  to  fall  asleep. 
I  was  tired  out.  We  were  to  hurry  the  next 
morning  back  to  Calais  to  continue  our  flight,  with 
Moscow  our  next  stop. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
AN  OLD  LETTER. 

How  empty  learning,  and  how  vain  is  art, 
But  as  it  mends  the  life  and  gruides  the  heart. 

— Young's  Last  Day. 

It  must  have  been  about  i  o'clock  that  I  awoke 
with  a  start.  A  curtain  of  moonlight,  blue  and  un 
canny,  hung  between  my  bed  and  the  wall  opposite. 
It  stretched  from  the  window  where  it  came  in  at 
one  side  of  the  drawn  shade,  which  hung  aslant, 
across  the  room,  ending  on  a  bronze  statue  of  Ho 
mer.  I  was  in  the  grip  of  a  strange  feeling  that 
almost  prompted  me  to  pull  the  covers  over  my 
head  and  shut  out  the  scene.  It  seemed  as  if  a 
spectral  figure  were  standing  over  me,  issuing  a 
command.  The  message,  if  there  was  one,  was 
vague  and  unintelligible.  I  was  half  asleep.  The 
conviction  that  some  one  was  in  the  room,  stand 
ing  over  my  bed,  grew  in  the  next  few  seconds. 
My  fear  finally  vanished.  I  energetically  opened  my 
eyes  and  sat  up.  Looking  around  in  a  bewildered 
way  I  half  expected  to  see  some  one  I  knew.  My 
eyes  gradually  became  accustomed  to  the  mingled 
light  and  dark.  I  had  been  mistaken.  There  was 
no  one  in  sight.  Boldly  I  leaped  from  the  bed  and 

49 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

raised  the  shade.  The  tiny  stream  of  moonlight 
instantly  became  a  flood.  At  the  same  minute 
something  secerned  to  say,  "Read  the  letter  in  your 
pocket."  Suddenly  I  remembered.  My  father, 
three  days  before,  had  given  me  a  letter,  written  two 
centuries  ago  by  my  great  great  grandfather,  who 
in  his  day,  had  been  a  conspicuous  figure  in  national 
life.  I  knew  that  he  had  been  a  Governor  of  Ohio, 
and  had  served  six  years  in  the  national  Senate. 
A  biographical  sketch  explained  that  at  one  time  he 
was  prominently  mentioned  for  the  Democratic 
nomination  for  the  presidency.  He  had  been  a 
man  of  large  means,  and  had  spent  many  years  in 
travel,  studying  the  different  races  of  men  and  the 
growth  of  civilization. 

In  an  inside  pocket  of  my  coat  I  found  the  heavy 
Manila  envelope  that  contained  the  letter,  now  a 
message  from  the  dead  to  the  living.  The  letter 
was  written  in  the  old  style,  many  years  before  the 
introduction  of  phonetic  spelling.  Inasmuch  as  old 
English  literature  had  been  a  favorite  study  in  my 
last  university  days,  I  deciphered  it  with  greater 
ease  than  might  have  been  expected,  considering 
the  incongruities  of  the  spelling.  The  ten  sheets 
of  paper  were  yellow  with  age,  but  the  ink  was 
still  dark,  so  dark  that  the  characters  stood  out 
with  surprising  boldness. 

The  letter  was  addressed  to  "John  Young,  my 
son,"  and  was  dated  Madras,  India,  June  n,  1901. 

That  much  I  made  out  in  the  moonlight.  My 
curiosity  was  aroused.  In  my  strenuous  experi- 

50 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

ences  of  the  last  few  days  I  had  completely  for 
gotten  my  father's  injunction  to  read  the  letter  and 
tell  him  what  I  thought  of  it.  Turning  on  the  light 
and  pulling  down  the  shade,  I  settled  myself  in  a 
leather  upholstered  chair,  with  great,  enfolding 
arms,  lighted  my  briar  wood  pipe  and  leaned  back 
comfortably  to  see  what  mystery,  if  any,  the  letter 
contained.  It  began: 

My  Dear  Son:  Within  the  last  month  I  have 
begun  to  realize  that  I  may  never  again  see  you 
alive.  I  have  failed  most  perceptibly  within  the 
last  two  weeks.  I  fear  I  shall  never  again  see  my 
native  land.  A  fall  I  sustained  three  weeks  ago; 
following  a  dinner  at  the  Army  Club,  has  been 
most  disastrous.  It  came  from  an  attack  of  verti 
go.  Since  then  I  have  been  nervous,  and  for  the 
first  time  in  my  life  apprehensive  of  death.  My 
physician,  Dr.  C.  M.  Eistand,  says  that  I  am  the 
victim  of  a  complication  of  diseases,  which  have 
come  into  prominence  as  a  direct  result  of  the  shock. 
I  am  up  far  enough  in  materia  medica  and  ther 
apeutics  to  know  that  there  is  no  hope  for  my  re 
covery.  My  liver  is  semi-torpid  all  of  the  time,  and 
I  cannot  sleep.  If  I  were  strong  enough  to  get 
about  and  get  exercise  I  feel  there  would  be  some 
hope,  but  I  am  not.  This  is  one  of  the  worst 
nights  I  have  experienced.  I  cannot  sleep  a  wink. 
Ameluke,  my  Hindoo  attendant,  has  propped  me 
up  in  bed,  and  at  my  command  brought  me  paper 
and  ink  to  write  something  that  I  think  should  not 
die  with  me.  In  the  last  25  years  in  particular  I 

51 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

have  realized  more  than  ever  what  a  creature  of 
custom  man  is.  Too  many  of  us  are  born  and  live 
in  a  little  world  of  our  own,  without  knowing  much 
about  the  great  outside  world.  One  man  is  born  a 
Christian,  another  a  Mohammedan,  another  a 
Brahmin  and  a  fourth  a  materialist.  Each  has  an 
environment  of  walls  he  never  sees  over.  Inside 
these  walls  he  lives,  toils  and  dies,  to  be  succeeded 
by  another  and  another,  each  doing  exactly  as  his 
father  did.  Now  and  then,  measured  by  centuries, 
a  transition  that  works  some  wondrous  change  in 
man's  sociological  condition  comes.  These  will 
continue  to  come  until  in  the  end,  if  there  ever  is 
to  be  an  end,  human  perfection  will  be  attained.  In 
time  inventions  will  bring  the  world  so  close  to 
gether  that  all  of  the  people  will  be  as  one  race  and 
one  nation.  I  believe  that  the  next  century  will  see 
Asia  and  America  as  close  as  Ohio  and  Indiana 
now  are.  To  elucidate:  By  means  of  cable  and 
telegraph  Europe  and  America  are  now  closer  to 
gether  than  were  New  York  and  Pittsburg  100 
years  ago.  With  the  further  development  of  man's 
ingenuity,  general  intelligence  will  grow  and  there 
will  be  radical  changes  in  social,  commercial  and 
political  life. 

The  best  prophesy  is  simply  based  on  the  greatest 
knowledge.  Some  men  can  see  into  the  future  and 
read  aright  the  signs  with  the  same  ease  that  those 
on  the  inside,  or  in  other  words  those  having  the 
knowledge,  successfully  play  the  stock  market, 
while  the  poor  lambs  on  the  outside,  not  seeing  the 

52 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

concealed  wires  that  are  pulled,  wonder  how  it 
is  done,  and  katow  in  admiration  to  the  money 
kings  of  the  country.  If  many  can  see  into  the 
future  and  make  predictions  with  certainty,  I 
can  see  into  the  past.  It  is  about  my  strange  gift 
or  sixth  sense  that  I  wish  to  write.  Men  in  these 
days  vary  greatly  in  mental  power.  As  a  Senator 
I  had  some  remarkable  experiences  in  that  line. 
Senator  B.  from  Maryland,  for  instance,  was  the 
most  remarkable  man  I  ever  knew.  He  never  for 
got  a  face  or  a  name.  His  reading  had  been  omni- 
verous,  and  there  was  not  a  subject  he  could  not 
discuss,  even  with  a  specialist,  without  amazing  his 
hearers  by  his  keen  insight  into  practically  every 
thing.  If  a  party  of  railroad  men  mentioned  a  lo 
comotive  he  could  always  see  and  tell  of  features 
about  that  piece  of  mechanism  that  had  escaped  the 
others.  So  it  was  about  everything  else.  Where 
other  men  saw  100  feet  he  saw  150  feet. 

His  perceptive  powers  were  marvelously  devel 
oped.  He  had  been  born  on  a  farm  in  humble  cir 
cumstances,  and  had  made  his  own  way.  Where 
others  sought  in  vain  for  wealth  he  found  it  and 
piled  it  up  until  at  the  time  I  write  he  is  worth 
between  four  and  five  million  dollars.  He  appar 
ently  mastered  everything  at  sight.  Even  in  learn 
ing  foreign  languages  he  was  a  prodigy.  If  he 
heard  a  sentence  once  in  French  he  was  always 
able  thereafter  to  repeat  it  with  the  exact  accent 
in  which  it  had  been  given  and  with  a  perfect  un 
derstanding  of  its  meaning.  Such  a  man  was  bound 

53 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

to  outdistance  his  fellows.  He  was  a  giant  in  size 
and  intellect,  and  never  seemed  to  tire.  One  of  his 
remarkable  feats  was  to  speak  for  18  consecutive 
hours  to  delay  a  vote  on  the  old  Wilson  tariff  bill. 
He  could  go  for  a  week  at  a  time  without  sleep.  In 
contrast  to  him  was  Senator  M.  of  Michigan.  He 
was  a  little,  peevish,  fretful  man  that  any  problem 
bothered.  He  tired  easily,  and  but  for  inherited 
money,  with  which  a  seat  had  been  bought  for  him, 
would  never  have  been  in  the  Senate.  His  mem 
ory  was  scarcely  a  minute  long,  and  he  got  be 
fuddled  over  simple  problems. 

The  mind  is  a  mystery.  Additional  force  is  given 
to  this  statement  by  the  discovery  of  my  strange 
gift.  I  made  it  one  night  while  sitting  in  my  room 
in  the  Arlington  Hotel  in  Washington.  I  had  been 
out  for  a  stroll.  Lighting  my  second  cigar,  I 
climbed  to  my  room,  sat  down  in  the  twilight,  closed 
my  eyes  and  silently  puffed  away.  I  don't  know 
how  long  I  had  been  sitting  in  that  wise,  when 
slowly  and  dimly  there  appeared  in  my  mind  a  fig 
ure  that  I  at  once  realized  must  have  been  myself 
at  some  other  time.  I  fixed  my  mind  intently  on 
that  figure  and  began  to  think  with  all  the  power 
at  my  command.  The  figure  grew  in  distinctness 
until  it  was  as  plain  as  if  it  had  been  a  photograph 
before  my  eyes.  The  figure  was  that  of  a  tall, 
heavy  Hindoo,  with  swarthy  face  and  big  black 
beard.  His  turban,  brick  colored  robe  and  baggy- 
trousers  were  distinct.  Jewels  on  his  fingers,  his 
dignity  and  appearance  of  authority  made  it  certain 

54 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

that  he  had  been  a  person  of  some  note.  After  that 
night  I  again  and  again  tried  the  experiment,  each 
time  with  improved  results.  I  had  always  longed  to 
go  to  India.  Now  nothing  could  hold  me  back. 
Never  shall  I  forget  that  day  I  reached  Calcutta. 
It  seemed  as  if  I  were  getting  back  home.  While 
I  had  never  before  seen  the  city  or  been  in  the 
country  everything  about  seemed  familiar.  What 
was  it  after  all,  reincarnation?  I  suspect  so.  For 
years  I  followed  my  experiments.  A  few  years 
later  I  was  able  to  see  back  of  the  Hindoo  a  poor 
Russian  mujik,  lacking  the  commonest  necessaries 
of  life,  and  living  from  day  to  day  on  a  menu  of 
boiled  cabbage  and  black  bread.  That  figure  ap 
peared  and  reappeared  in  my  mind  with  such  grow 
ing  distinctness  that  I  became  convinced  I  had  at 
one  time  lived  as  that  poor  Slav. 

Recently  in  glancing  over  a  copy  of  the  London 
Times  I  read  that  a  French  woman,  who  fell  into  a 
cataleptic  state,  claimed,  on  emerging  from  her 
trance-like  condition,  that  she  had  been  able  to  see 
backwards  for  seven  generations.  Now  people 
may  scoff  and  say  that  these  claims  are  the  products 
of  a  diseased  brain.  I  care  not.  We  are  now  year 
ly  discovering  so  many  new  things  in  science  that 
the  wonder  of  today  is  A.  B.  C.  in  the  primer  of 
tomorrow.  Recent  developments  in  psychology,  af 
fecting  telepathy  and  thought  transference,  make 
it  plain,  I  believe,  that  there  are  yet  many  wonder 
ful  things  about  the  mind  to  be  learned.  Certain 
it  is  that  both,  under  certain  vague  conditions,  can 

55 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

be  practiced  successfully.  Physicians  for  fifty 
years  or  more  have  known  of  the  value  of  mental 
stimulation  in  the  treatment  of  common  ailments. 
Hence  the  use  of  the  placebo,  a  tasteless  pill  of 
nothing  but  common  dough,  given  to  the  patient  to 
make  him  believe  he  is  getting  something  to  effect 
a  cure,  while  the  doctor  makes  him  optimistic,  and 
suddenly  finds  his  patient  much  better  or  cured. 
Now  I  want  my  descendants  to  read  this  letter  and 
see  if  any  of  them  have  the  strange  power  I  pos 
sess. 

Then  followed  several  pages,  relative  to  the  dis 
position  of  his  property  in  the  event  of  death.  The 
letter  left  me  dazed.  I  sat  in  that  chair  thinking 
until  a  streak  of  gray  light  in  the  East  made  me 
realize  it  was  daybreak. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
RACE  OVER  A  CONTINENT. 


Thoughts  that  frown  upon  our  mirth 
Will  smile  upon  our  sorrow, 

And  many  dark  fears  of  today, 

May  be  bright  hopes  tomorrow. 
— Pinckney. 


The  world  owes  much  to  the  enterprise  of  news 
papers  and  newspaper  men.  To  borrow  part  of  a 
well  worn  expression  they  have  been  "First  in  war, 
first  in  peace." 

Naturally  no  journey  of  the  character  of  ours, 
taking  precedence  at  the  time  in  the  world's  events 
over  everything  else,  could  be  complete  without  the 
presence  of  the  ubiquitous  newspaper  men. 

While  strolling  through  Threadneedle  street 
early  the  next  morning,  taking  my  constitutional, 
I  little  expected  to  meet  one  of  my  old  college 
chums.  I  was  walking  along  abstractedly,  thinking 
about  a  thousand  and  one  things.  My  eyes  were 
on  the  ground.  The  business  world  had  not  yet 
turned  out,  and  there  were  comparatively  few  peo 
ple  in  the  thoroughfares.  I  bolted  around  a  corner, 
perhaps  with  unseemly  haste,  and  bumped  into  an 
other  pedestrian  up  early  like  myself. 

57 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

Without  looking  up  I  started  to  apologize,  when 
a  blow  on  the  shoulder,  followed  by  a  loud  "Good 
gracious,  Bob,  why  don't  you  look  where  you  are 
going?"  caused  me  to  straighten  up  and  face  John 
Raper,  John  whom  I  had  not  seen  for  nearly  ten 
years.  He  had  changed  but  little  since  I  bade  him 
good  bye  at  Yale  on  that  memorable  i7th  of  June, 
when  we  were  graduated,  he  to  hunt  a  job,  I  to  go 
back  to  Fratersurb  to  consult  pater  familias,  before 
definitely  deciding  what  I  should  do  for  a  living. 
My  father's  great  wish  had  been  for  me  to  take  up 
Brotherhood  work  actively.  In  a  measure  I  had 
from  childhood  been  trained  for  it.  It  was  in  no 
wise  distasteful,  and  I  readily  acquiesced  in  my 
father's  plans. 

I  had  heard  indirectly  once  or  twice  from  "Jack." 
1  knew  that  at  one  time  he  was  with  the  Chicago 
World. 

"What  are  you  doing  over  here?"  I  asked,  partly 
recovered  from  my  astonishment.  "It  seems  an  age 
since  I  saw  you  last." 

"What  am  I  doing?  I  am  on  your  trail,"  he  an 
swered,  as  he,  with  evident  enjoyment,  puffed 
away  at  a  cheroot.  "I  am  still  with  The  World,  and 
have  been  assigned  to  follow  you  and  Father  Glad 
stone  to  the  land  of  Confucius.  I  saw  you  at  the 
meeting  last  night  and  tried  to  reach  you,  but  lost 
you  in  the  jam,  following  the  adjournment.  Why, 
don't  you  know  the  whole  world  is  on  the  qui  vive 
over  the  result  of  your  mission?  Old  'Daddy* 

58 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

Hurst,  our  managing  editor,  gave  me  strict  injunc 
tion  to  follow  every  movement  of  your  party,  miss 
nothing  and  get  exclusive  features.  He  insisted  on 
7,000  words  on  the  meeting  last  night.  But  for 
the  fact  that  we  are  to  start  at  the  same  time  you 
do  this  morning  I  would  still  be  in  bed.  Work? 
I  worked  like  a  Cape  Colony  slave  last  night.  I 
had  my  electro  typewriter  in  a  little  room  off  the 
stage,  and  was  grinding  away  for  three  hours  after 
the  meeting.  To  accommodate  me  the  International 
Aerograph  Co.  erected  a  special  mast  on  top  of  the 
hall,  so  there  would  be  as  little  delay  as  possible  in 
getting  my  'copy'  off.  Of  course  the  other  fellows 
shared  in  the  benefits  of  this  privilege.  It  was  a 
great  satisfaction  when  I  had  finished  to  receive 
this  message  from  the  Chicago  office:  Tine  work 
on  tonight's  meeting.  We  beat  our  best  competitor 
on  the  street  "bv  15  seconds.  The  old  man  (that's 
the  proprietor)  gave  orders  to  add  at  once  10  per 
week  to  your  stipend.' ' 

"I  always  knew  yon  would  lead,"  I  asserted. 
"You  were  always  first  in  college  in  everything  ex 
cept  studies.  Do  you  remember  how  you  won  over 
Jim  Stlmel  in  that  sprinting  match?" 

"  'Deed  I  do." 

"Tell  me  one  thing,  how  do  you  make  such  speed 
in  sending  your  dispatches?" 

"Easiest  thing  in  the  world.  The  electro  type 
writer,  as  you  know,  is  almost  as  old  as  the  hills. 
It  is  the  invention  of  Prof.  Rowland,  formerly  of 
Johns-Hopkins  University.  -He  tried  to  sell  it  in 

59 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

the  United  States,  but  failing,  disposed  of  it  to  the 
Belgian  government. 

"That  was  away  back  in  1902  or  1903,  I  have 
read.  The  invention  consisted  of  two  special  type 
writers,  connected  by  wire.  By  a  device,  fitting 
over  the  fingerboard  of  each,  what  was  written  on 
one  was  instantly  reproduced  on  the  other.  It 
would  have  saved  the  Associated  Press  thousands 
of  dollars  per  annum.  For  some  unknown  reason 
it  was  not  at  the  time  adopted.  Fifty  years  later  it 
came  into  use.  It  is  the  same  today  as  it  was  orig 
inally,  except  that  by  the  utilization  of  wireless 
telegraphy,  wires  are  no  longer  necessary.  What 
I  wrote  last  night  was  instantly  reproduced  on  a 
twin  typewriter  in  the  World  office  in  Chicago, 
The  initial  electrical  energy  at  this  end  of  the  line 
leaped  to  the  top  of  the  mast  and  instantly  jumped 
the  gap  between  London  and  Chicago.  Blue  flash 
after  blue  flash  followed  and  the  work  was  done." 

"Marvelous!"  I  involuntarily  exclaimed. 

"Twenty  seconds  after  the  last  word  had  reached 
Chicago,  a  lever  was  pulled  and  papers  were  print 
ed,  giving  the  report  complete.  A  few  of  course 
still  go  on  the  street.  The  Sun,  our  only  competi 
tor,  will  feel  badly  over  the  'beat/  and  Arthur 
Clarke,  their  representative,  will  not  be  happy  un 
til  he  has  gotten  even.  May  be  he  will  not  get  the 
chance,  as  the  rumor  is  pretty  well  authenticated 
that  the  World  and  the  Sun  are  to  be  consolidated 
and  taken  over  by  the  municipality,  as  has  been 

60 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

done  elsewhere.  But  I  must  watch  Clarke,"  Jack 
added  thoughtfully. 

It  was  wise  that  he  did. 

"We  are  to  leave  at  8  a.  m.,"  I  explained.  "Let's 
get  some  breakfast." 

"No  use  to  worry  about  your  matutinal  meal," 
Jack  offered.  "Always  carry  a  package  of  Mun- 
son's  breakfast  tabloids  with  me.  We  fellows  so 
often  have  to  jump  and  run  to  cover  an  assignment 
that  rations  are  as  necessary  as  typewriters." 

"They  will  save  a  lot  of  time,"  I  added,  referring 
to  the  tabloids.  "Come  then,"  Jack  commanded, 
"down  to  the  projectile  station." 

"No  use  for  me ;  our  ship  is  over  at  Calais.  We 
made  a  slight  miscalculation  and  landed  in  the 
wrong  place." 

"Come  along  anyhow.  Join  me.  We  will  ar 
rive  at  practically  the  same  time." 

"Good  idea.    Why  not?" 

"We  shall  be  glad  to  have  you." 

"Come  with  me  back  to  the  International  then. 
I  must  tell  Father  Gladstone  and  get  my  belong 
ings." 

"Good." 

Hailing  a  motor  car,  which  speeded  to  our  side, 
we  climbed*  in.  First  there  was  a  dash  down  the 
narrow  street,  a  turn  and  the  International,  five 
squares  away,  was  in  sight.  "Room  19,  twenty- 
first  floor,"  I  shouted  to  the  driver. 

"Yes,  sir,"  he  answered.  "There  was  a  whirring 
motion  at  the  rear,  the  machine  arose  and  we  be- 

61 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

gan  to  fly  through  the  air.  It  took  but  a  minute 
for  us  to  reach  the  right  floor  and  dismount  at  the 
landing. 

"Good  day,  sir.  Wish  you  a  pleasant  journey," 
exclaimed  the  driver,  as  he  smiled  and  vanished. 

''Years  ago/'  said  Raper,  "a  driver  would  have 
worn  a  scowl  for  a  month  if  you  had  not  tipped 
him." 

"Tipped  him  ?"  I  repeated.  "Why  that  was  one 
of  the  worst  practices  of  the  past  because  it  accen 
tuated  the  difference  between  master  and  man. 
None  of  it  these  days  of  Brotherhood." 

Inasmuch  as  pur  projectile  was  somewhat 
crowded,  Father  Gladstone  gladly  consented  to  my 
accompanying  Raper. 

The  venerable  patriarch,  old  in  years,  but  young 
in  heart,  and  as  vigorous  in  body  and  mind  as 
many  a  man  of  half  his  years,  said  good  bye,  as  he 
and  his  party  left  for  the  Electric  Flash  station  to 
recross  to  Calais. 

They  had  planned  to  get  away  from  the  French 
port  at  8.30  a.  m.  In  order  to  keep  as  near  them 
as  possible  we  decided  to  leave  at  8:29:30.  There 
were  four  projectiles  in  the  newspaper  party,  one 
representing  the  Associated  Press,  one  the  New 
York  Herald,  one  the  Chicago  World  and  one  the 
Chicago  Sun.  The  Fratersurb  Journal  relied  upon 
the  Associated  Press  for  its  report. 

The  newspaper  men  watched  one  another  like 
hawks.  When  Reid,  Wallace  and  Clarke,  repre 
senting  the  Press  Association  and  the  dailies 

62 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

named  above,  saw  me  climb  into  Raper's  car,  there 
was  consternation  among  them.  I  did  not  realize 
until  later  what  a  favor  I  was  doing  "Jack." 

There  were  four  reports  in  quick  succession,  and 
we  sped  away  on  our  journey  to  Moscow.  While 
Raper's  crew  was  making  ready  for  the  start,  and 
even  after  we  were  under  way,  "Jack"  kept  me 
busy  answering  his  volley  of  questions.  Among 
other  things  I  told  him  of  our  change  in  program, 
involving  a  visit  to  the  base  of  Mt.  Everest  to  ex 
amine  the  wonderful  new  light  Father  Gladstone 
had  heard  of,  and  in  doing  so  I  unconsciously  gave 
him  one  of  the  greatest  "scoops"  ever  printed. 

Calais,  Paris,  Vienna,  smaller  cities,  rivers  and 
mountain  ranges  passed  under  us  like  a  flash.  In 
just  fourteen  minutes  Moscow,  with  the  gilded 
dome  of  the  Kremlin  shining  like  a  brass  headed 
tack  in  a  carpet,  was  before  us.  The  slowing  up 
and  dropping  were  accomplished  without  a  hitch. 
We  came  down  at  8:43:30,  Heid  four  seconds 
later,  and  then  Wallace  and  Clarke  in  turn. 
Father  Gladstone  and  company  had  not  yet  ar 
rived.  Three  minutes  later  there  was  a  hiss,  fol 
lowed  by  a  whir  in  the  air,  and  Hiram  Sykes'  ship 
was  on  terra  firma  once  more. 

Reid,  Wallace  and  Clarke  instantly  formed  a  bar 
to  Father  Gladstone's  advance. 

"What  is  the  program  when  Peking  is  reached  ?" 
they  inquired  in  unison. 

"Boys,"  the  patriarch  answered  in  his  kindest 
tone,  "I  cannot  definitely  state.  We  are  to  meet 

63 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

the  foremost  men  of  the  empire  and  explain  to  them 
some  features  of  Brotherhood  work  that  are  not 
clear  to  them.  The  probabilities  are  it  will  be  some 
months  before  any  decisive  action  is  taken  on  the 
recommendations  we  shall  make.  You  know  the 
Chinese  move  slowly  and  cautiously.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  in  the  end  they  will  become  a  part  of 
the  great  union." 

Raper  had  edged  over  to  the  semi-circle,  and 
had  caught  every  word.  The  interview  was,  how 
ever,  of  secondary  importance,  he  felt,  to  the  abso 
lutely  new  information  he  had  gained  from  me. 
There  was  a  rush  to  trie  aerograph  station,  and  for 
some  time  the  correspondents  were  busy.  Reid, 
Wallace  and  Clarke  wondered  why  Raper  lingered 
so  long.  They  found  out  when  ten  minutes  after 
he  had  finished  his  despatch,  each  received  a  mes 
sage  wanting  to  know  how  he  had  gotten 
"scooped." 

"Wake  up  and  send  something  not  a  week  old," 
was  the  aerogram  Clarke  sullenly  read.  He  gnashed 
his  teeth  in  rage,  and  would  not  speak  to  Raper  for 
two  days.  Our  stop  in  Moscow  was  to  be  short. 
There  was  time  though  for  me  to  communicate 
with  Alice.  I  would  do  so.  The  aerograph  was  at 
my  right  and  to  the  station  I  hurried. 


64 


CHAPTER  IX. 
A  SOCIAL  EARTHQUAKE. 

Man  was  marked 

A  friend  in  his  creation  to  himself, 

And  may  with  fit  ambition  conceive 

The  greatest  blessings,  and  the  brightest  honors 

Appointed  for  him,  if  he  can  achieve  them 

The  right  and  noble  way. 

— Massinger's  Guardian. 

Moscow,  rich  in  scenes  of  historical  and  socio 
logical  interest,  was  a  gold  mine  of  information  to 
me  in  particular  in  the  short  time  that  we  were  in 
the  ancient  Russian  capital.  The  Tsar-Kolokol,  or 
the  Czar  of  Bells,  hung  just  as  it  had  for  years 
past.  The  aerograph  station  is  located  on  the 
northwest  corner  of  Senate  Square,  the  four  cor 
ners  of  which  are  occupied  by  monuments  to  Ku- 
tuzoff,  Barclay  de  Tolly,  Alexander  I  and  Nicho 
las  I. 

There  was  a  disposition  when  the  republic  was 
founded  to  tear  down  these  statues,  as  that  of 
George  III  in  New  York  was  razed  at  the  out 
break  of  the  American  war  of  the  Revolution,  but 
as  they  were  not  of  lead,  and  in  consequence  would 
not  yield  bullets,  they  were  forgotten  in  the  fever 
of  overturning  the  monarchy. 

Usually  fluent  in  expressing  myself  I  could  not 

6s 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

that  morning  find  words  of  the  right  shade  of 
meaning  for  my  message  to  Alice.  I  must  have 
written  and  torn  up  at  least  a  dozen  different  aero 
grams,  all  of  them  unsatisfactory,  and  was  still 
cudgeling  my  brain  for  appropriate  words,  when 
someone  touched  me  gently  on  the  arm  and  said  in 
good  English :  "May  I  speak  with  you,  please  ?" 

The  man  who  was  bowing  deferentially  was  a 
Russian,  evidently  a  college  professor  or  an  ad 
vanced  student.  He  offered  me  his  card.  It  read: 
"Prof.  Andrew  Morosky,  University  of  Moscow." 

He  was  just  the  man  I  wanted  to  meet.  He  had 
for  several  years  been  active  in  the  promulgation  of 
the  Brotherhood  doctrine  in  Russia. 

"I  should  like,"  he  said,  "to  have  a  talk  with  you 
and  Father  Gladstone." 

<- Easily  arranged,"  I  answered.  "Come  with 
me." 

Going  to  the  new  library  building  in  the  Kitay- 
Gorod,  we  found  a  room  where  we  could  talk  with 
out  interruption. 

Our  host  was  a  man  of  unusual  intelligence.  He 
was  of  stalwart  proportions,  in  reality  a  giant, 
physically  and  mentally.  He  spoke  with  the  ease 
and  softness  of  those  who  have  great  reserve 
power.  Father  Gladstone,  who  had  the  highest 
opinion  of  his  ability,  greeted  him  with  the  utmost 
cordiality.  Prof.  Morosky  began:  "You  know 
that  the  Brotherhood  movement,  being  compara 
tively  new  in  Russia,  is  not  yet  firmly  established 
here.  More  than  ordinary  difficulties  were,  I 

66 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

think,  to  be  anticipated.  We  for  centuries  had  the 
richest  of  the  rich  and  the  poorest  of  the  poor.  The 
gap  between  the  widely  separated  classes  could  not 
be  spanned  in  a  day,  a  month  or  even  a  year.  The 
Russian  autocrat  remained  obstinate  to  the  last. 
Arrogant,  supercilious  and  unyielding,  he  could 
never  admit  that  other  men  over  whom  he  and  his 
ancestors  had  ruled  with  an  iron  hand  could  be  his 
equals.  I  believe  that  here  in  the  old  Russian  em 
pire  the  rule  of  greed  was  worse  than  anywhere 
else  in  the  world.  Awful  general  poverty  on  one 
side,  and  pitiless  wealth  on  the  other,  illustrated 
to  the  whole  world  the  dire  possibilities  of  a  sys 
tem  that  was  and  is,  theoretically  and  practically, 
inhuman.  The  Russian  peasant,  the  small  middle 
class,  and  even  the  best  of  the  most  successful 
business  men  were  continuously  squeezed  for  the 
benefit  of  the  selfish  few,  cormorants,  if  you 
please,  who,  I  now  believe,  were  born  without 
hearts  or  souls.  I  realize  that  such  a  declaration 
on  my  part  a  couple  of  centuries  ago  would  have 
started  me  on  the  dismal  road  to  Siberia.  What 
I  want  to  get  at  is  this :  The  feeling  of  superior 
ity  had  so  long  been  innate  on  the  part  of  our  so- 
called  Russian  nobles  that  there  are  today  still 
strong  traces  of  it  that  operate  to  our  disadvantage 
in  firmly  and  irrevocably  establishing  Brotherhood 
rule.  Descendants  of  these  knout  users  now  and 
then  sneer  at  us  and  predict  the  new  regime  will 
prove  but  ephemeral." 

Father  Gladstone  had  followed  his  ardent  con- 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

vert  closely.  He  was  so  calm  and  judicial  in  what 
he  said  as  a  rule  that  I  was  somewhat  surprised 
at  the  feeling  he  showed  when  he  began:  "Of  all 
the  tyrants  of  the  world  the  Russian  noble  has 
been  a  striking  object  lesson  in  pointing  out  to  the 
world  the  graduations  that  have  resulted  in  the  es 
tablishment  of  Brotherhood  rule,  and  in  emphasiz 
ing  the  necessity  of  changing  old  conditions,  con 
ditions  that  were  unnatural  and  brutal.  Draw  the 
veil  that  hides  the  Russian  past,  contrast  those 
dark  days  and  the  present,  and  then  thank  God  for 
the  reformers,  men,  who,  despite  sneers,  ridicule 
and  opprobrium,  dared  to  'do  right  and  lead  the 
people  higher  up  the  hill  of  progress." 

In  his  fervor  Father  Gladstone  had  arisen  and 
begun  pacing  the  floor. 

"First  brute  strength  ruled,"  he  went  on.  "Why 
even  the  strongest  carried  away  the  women.  In 
the  past  how  many  crude  homes  were  despoiled  of 
the  wives  and  mothers  by  some  one  who  was 
stronger  than  the  husband  and  father?  Men  like 
wild  animals  fought  for  every  possession  over 
which  there  could  be  any  contest.  In  time  the 
stronger  gathered  unto  themselves  retainers  and 
followers,  hired  Hessians,  if  you  please,  and  estab 
lished  laws  for  the  protection  of  their  property. 
These  laws  were,  of  course,  effective  only  as  the 
strong  were  able  to  fight  with  the  strong  for  their 
observance.  The  idea  of  rule  by  force  grew,  and 
the  system  gave  us  kings,  whose  authority,  little 
by  little,  was  curtailed.  Limited  monarchy  bred 

68 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

republic  and  republic  Brotherhood.  The  latter  was 
just  as  sure  to  be  the  evolution  of  the  republic  as 
the  republic  was  to  be  the  evolution  of  the  king 
dom,  and  the  kingdom  of  tribal  reign.  When 
Brotherhood  rule  was  in  incubation,  and  the  period 
was  more  than  a  century,  the  reformers  that  the 
period  produced  were  all  agents,  that  little  by  little 
led  the  people  to  the  unchangeable  destiny  of  man. 
Brotherhood  domination  was  sneered  at  just  as  the 
Royalists  and  their  sycophantic  followers  first 
turned  up  their  noses  at  the  republic. 

"Now  when  something  better  than  Brotherhood 
rule  is  proposed,  and  proposed  it  will  be  sometime, 
perhaps  not  for  two  centuries  from  now,  the  same 
old  arguments  against  change  will  be  made.  Some 
of  them  will  be  specious,  and  some  people  will  be 
misled,  just  as  they  have  been  in  the  past.  This  is 
a  world  of  progress,  progress  in  every  .direction. 
The  man  that  tries  to  stop  this  vehicle  is  getting 
under  a  Juggernaut  car/' 

"What  are  we  to  do  with  our  malcontents?" 
Prof.  Morosky  inquired. 

"Do  with  them?"  Father  Gladstone  repeated. 
"Why  let  them  alone  unless  they  break  our  laws. 
In  the  event  that  they  do,  then  give  them  the  se 
verest  punishment.  Give  up  your  time  to  pushing 
Brotherhood  teachings.  Nothing  can  long  stand 
in  their  way.  After  all  it  is  nothing  new,  simply 
practical  theology.  It  is  real,  not  false  living.  Un 
der  Brotherhood  conditions  there  is  just  as  much 
of  a  stimulus  to  work,  to  create  new  instruments 

69 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

of  progress,  and  to  beautify  the  world  as  under  the 
old  system,  when  man's  sole  aim  was  to  make 
money.  Now  we  have  a  new  criterion.  We  have 
advanced.  We  no  longer  place  a  million  dollars 
on  a  pedestal,  bow  to  it  and  make  everything  else 
subordinate  to  its  purchasing  power.  Shame  it  is 
that  we  did  it  once." 

"I  feel  much  benefitted  and  stimulated  by  our 
conference/'  exlaimed  Prof.  Morosky,  when 
Father  Gladstone  indicated  that  we  must  hurry  on 
to  Peking  to  keep  our  engagement  there.  There 
were  warm  adieux,  and  Father  Gladstone  and  f 
hurried  back  to  the  Senate  Square,  where  our  trav 
eling  companions  would  be  waiting  for  us. 

"Your  name  Robert  Young?"  inquired  a  uni 
formed  attache  of  the  aerograph  station,  as  I  was 
about  to  climb  into  Raper's  ship  with  Hunan  as 
our  destination. 

"Yes,"  I  answered,  as  I  took  the  message  he 
held  from  his  extended  hand.  The  message  was 
from  Alice.  It  read :  "Do  you  remember  the  les 
son  on  India  we  studied  together  ten  years  ago?" 

What  did  she  mean?  I  searched  my  mind  for 
the  answer.  Sykes'  ship  was  already  out  of  sight. 
"Climb  in,"  Raper  demanded,  as  he  gave  me  a 
gentle  shove,  followed  me  and  closed  the  door. 
Strange  as  were  all  the  sights  of  that  trip  they 
failed  to  interest  me. 


CHAPTER  X. 
A  CORRESPONDENTS  ENTERPRISE. 


The  fawning  citizen,   whose  love's  bought  dearest, 

Deceives  his  brother  when  the  sun  shines  clearest, 

Gets,  borrows,  breaks,  lets  in  and  stops  out  light, 
And  lives  a  knave,  to  leave  .his  son  a  knight. 

— Brown's  Pastorals. 


Ever  since  he  had  been  scooped,  Clarke  of  the 
Sun,  had  thirsted  for  revenge.  Raper  was  so  alert 
that  every  attempt  so  far  to  score  a  "beat"  on  him 
had  failed.  The  World  man,  whose  traveling  com 
panion  I  had  become,  knew  his  rival's  tactics  so 
well  that  he  was  constantly  on  the  watch.  The 
nerve  strain  must  have  been  racking.  Raper 
watched  Clarke  constantly,  and  the  latter  slept 
with  one  eye  open,  so  to  speak.  Some  miscalcula 
tion  had  been  made  as  to  the  size  of  the  charge 
of  pulva  and  all  of  our  projectiles,  finding  the 
propelling  force  almost  spent,  dropped  down  in 
Samarcand,  Central  Asia,  instead  of  at  Hunan  as 
planned.  Clarke  was  about  five  minutes  ahead  of 
us.  When  we  landed  in  the  park  in  front  of  the 
tomb  of  Tamerlane,  crowds  of  turbaned  citizens, 
surrounded  us,  eager  to  learn  of  the  strange  ship 
that  had  brought  us  to  this  city,  rich  in  the  simple 

71 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

and  beautiful  architecture  of  the  Orient.  Some 
distance  away  was  another  crowd,  around,  as  I 
afterwards  learned,  Clarke  and  his  car.  He  had 
alighted  at  the  Mosque  near  the  Reghistan.  It 
was  the  first  time  the  people  of  this  city,  many  of 
whom  were  Russians,  had  seen  one  of  the  projec 
tiles,  of  which  they  had  vaguely  heard,  as  if  they 
were  creations  of  a  fairyland.  Father  Gladstone 
and  companions  were  the  last  to  reach  the  ground. 
They  hit  the  earth  gently  near  the  Tilla-Kari 
mosque.  The  crowds  grew  in  size  until  it  seemed 
as  if  all  of  the  inhabitants  except  the  veiled  wives 
were  in  the  thoroughfares,  and  I  am  confident, 
from  the  many  movements  in  windows  on  the 
street  we  occupied  as  a  lodestone,  many  of  them 
were  peering  out  from  behind  blinds  and  shades 
with  curiosity  as  great  as  that  of  their  lords.  We 
looked  about  us  in  amazement.  The  scene  was  one 
of  exceptional  beauty.  Few  cities  in  the  world 
can  compare  with  Samarcand  for  attractiveness. 
Sylvan  scenes  stretch  out  in  every  direction.  The 
city  presents  the  appearance  of  having  been  liter 
ally  carved  out  of  a  forest  of  poplars  and  acacias, 
many  square  miles  in  extent.  The  tall  trees,  whose 
branches  almost  interlace  overhead,  form  green 
arcades  that  in  summer's  heat  are  bowers  so  cool 
and  inviting  that  there  is  always  a  temptation  to 
linger.  Here  was  a  city  that  had  undergone  but 
few  changes  in  centuries.  Rich  in  historical  inter 
est,  it  is  ever  a  treasure  trove  for  the  student.  There 
are  about  great  ruins,  reminders  of  an  active  past. 

72 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

I  learned  afterwards  that  this  city  was  used  as  a 
base  of  operations  for  that  prince  of  brigands, 
Alexander  the  Great,  whose  murderous  career  in 
pursuit  of  added  power,  leaving  behind  a  blood- 
red  trail,  illustrates  the  vast  difference  between 
the  past  and  the  present,  for  the  Brotherhood  ab 
hors  and  opposes  wars,  wars  that  in  the  past  were 
waged  in  the  same  spirit  that  prompted  the  high 
wayman  to  rob  and  plunder. 

A  gesticulating  band  that  formed  a  circle  many 
feet  thick  around  our  ship  and  tried  by  means  of 
signs  to  talk  with  us,  courteously  opened  a  way 
when  we  indicated  that  we  wanted  to  move  about. 

Presently  a  great  strapping  Russian  came  up 
and  greeted  us  with  characteristic  Eastern  warmth. 
He  spoke  English  with  ease,  and  said  he  had  been 
delegated  by  the  Russian  resident  Governor  to 
welcome  us  to  the  city.  He  said  that  dignitary  in 
sisted  that  we  become  his  guests  at  the  palace. 

"We  shall  be  delighted  to  do  so,"  Raper  an 
swered  for  both  of  us.  Climbing  into  one  of  the 
large  two-wheeled  carts,  peculiar  to  the  country, 
we  moved  away  in  a  lumbering  manner  to  the 
city's  show  place.  Clarke  was  not  in  sight,  and 
Father  Gladstone,  we  were  told,  was  already  at 
the  palace,  where  he  had  been  received  with  hon 
ors  befitting  a  king.  There  certainly  was  no  news 
in  this  out  of  the  way  place,  Raper  reasoned,  out 
side  of  that  of  the  unexpected  stop.  Reaching  the 
telegraph  office  he  sent  a  brief  message  by  way  of 
St.  Petersburg  to  his  paper,  telling  of  the  exhaus- 

73 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

tion  of  our  power  and  our  presence  at  SamarcancL 
He  added  that  we  would  hurry  on  to  Peking. 

On  arrival  at  the  palace  we  were  effusively 
greeted  by  Prince  Ritsky,  the  Governor,  who  still, 
by  common  consent,  retained  an  inherited  title, 
notwithstanding  Russia's  denial  of  nobles.  Prince 
Ritsky  was  a  man  of  intelligence  and  learning,  and 
showed  familiarity  with  the  Brotherhood  move 
ment.  We  were  offered  tea  and  vodka.  For  the 
novelty  of  it,  Raper  and  I  both  took  a  sip  of  the 
latter,  strong  enough  to  move  a  load  of  stone.  A 
dizzy  feeling  seized  me  immediately.  Thank  good 
ness  it  did  not  last  long. 

Prince  Ritsky  asked  us  one  question  after  an 
other,  the  interrogations  coming  with  the  rapidity 
of  an  army  enfilading  an  enemy  with  a  rapid  fire 
gun.  We  finally  accepted  his  invitation  to  attend 
a  banquet  he  hastily  planned  in  our  honor.  He 
invited  the  foremost  business  men  of  the  town. 
Native  dishes  exclusively  were  served.  One  of 
these  was  kiabab,  made  of  minced  meat,  previous 
ly  cooked  and  wrapped  in  thin  sheets  of  dough. 
Another  choice  dish  •  was  cayourna,  a  kind  of  a 
meat  stew,  made  of  mutton  and  half  a  dozen  veg 
etables.  The  chief  dish  was  pilaf,  made  by  mixing 
tidbits  of  fried  mutton  with  boiled  rice,  to  which 
was  added  something  like  curry.  There  were  Ori 
ental  music  and  dances,  together  with  entertain 
ment  by  acrobats  and  jugglers.  It  was  with  regret 
that  we  departed,  hoping  that  some  time  in  the  fu- 

74 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

ture  we  might  have  time  to  make  an  extended  vis 
it  to  this  city. 

Clarke  had  been  strangely  missing  part  of  the 
time,  but  to  this  fact  Raper  attached  no  import 
ance.  It  was  only  after  we  reached  Peking  that 
we  learned  of  his  coup.  Clarke  learned  from  a 
Russian  shortly  after  his  arrival  in  Samarcand, 
that  Viceroy  Wang  Ting  Fu  of  the  city  of  Canton, 
was  in  this  Central  Asian  city  on  a  political  mis 
sion.  The  Viceroy  had  been  educated  at  the  Uni 
versity  of  Chicago,  and  knew  English  so  well  that 
Clarke  said  afterwards  he  was  ashamed  of  the  fact 
that  he  knew  no  Chinese.  Now  the  Viceroy  was 
one  of  the  Emperor's  closest  advisers,  and  had  but 
two  weeks  before  talked  with  His  Majesty — how 
awful  that  title  sounds  to  us  Brotherhood  people 
• — about  pushing  the  Brotherhood  movement  in 
China.  They  had  spent  three  hours  together,  dis 
cussing  the  subject.  In  consequence  the  Viceroy 
was  full  to  the  chin  of  "spot"  news,  and  Raper 
didn't  even  know  of  his  presence  in  the  place* 
Clarke  had  a  long  talk  with  the  Chinese  official, 
and  then,  to  "kill"  time,  and  keep  him  away  from 
Raper  and  the  other  newspaper  correspondents, 
piloted  him  down  to  his  projectile,  explained  its 
mechanism  and  finally  took  him  inside,  where, 
with  Burgundy  and  Havanas,  the  time  passed 
swiftly  for  the  Viceroy.  And  that  is  the  way 
Clarke  got  his  memorable  scoop,  and  revenge.  His 
interview,  sent  by  old  fashioned  telegraph  to  Mos 
cow,  was  in  that  city,  put  on  the  aerograph  and 

75 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

hurried  to  Chicago.    The  Sun  had  its  day  of  a  big 
exclusive,  and  Clarke     for    a    week    afterwards 
walked  past  us  with  the  air  of  an  emperor. 

It  was  necessary  to  use  emergency  tubes  to  get 
away  from  Samarcand.  Over  the  Thian  Shan 
Mountains  and  the  brown  and  gray  desert  of  Gobi 
we  flashed  without  incident.  Reaching  Peking  we 
came  to  a  stop  within  the  sacred  walls  of  the  old 
Forbidden  City.  In  these  latter  years,  every  time 
I  think  of  Peking,  it  is  with  an  ache  that  goes  to 
the  very  bottom  of  my  heart,  for  it  was  in  that  city 
I  had  an  unfortunate  experience  that  caused  me 
many  days  and  nights  of  anguish. 


CHAPTER  XL 
WELCOMED  TO  PEKING. 

Trifles,  light  as  air, 

Are,  to  the  jealous,  confirmations  as  strong 

As  proof  of  Holy  Writ. 

—Shakespeare's  Othello. 

Our  arrival  in  the  Purple  Forbidden  City  natur 
ally  caused  a  commotion.  Guards,  topped  with  hats 
that  looked  like  upturned  bowls,  came  running 
from  every  direction.  Had  the  Emperor  not  taken 
the  precaution  to  notify  them  of  our  coming,  we 
might  have  been  shot  on  the  spot  for  invading  sa 
cred  territory.  As  it  was  an  army  official,  garbed 
in  yards  of  silk,  approached  and  did  a  katowing 
act  that  would  have  been  impossible  for  old  age. 
With  the  utmost  civility  we  were  escorted  to  the 
Imperial  Palace,  where,  after  a  short  delay,  we 
were  received  by  the  Son  of  Heaven  in  person.  In 
manner  he  was  democratic.  The  Emperor  was 
robed  in  a  combination  of  red  and  yellow  silks, 
and  had  an  air  of  ineffable  dignity.  Instead  of 
taking  his  chair  in  the  throne  room,  he  advanced 
to  meet  us,  and  took  each  of  our  party  by  the 
hand.  The  Emperor  spoke  English  with  ease,  so 
that  there  was  nothing  stilted  about  our  initial 

77 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

reception.  Father  Gladstone,  of  course,  did  all  of 
the  talking  for  the  Brotherhood  party.  The  first 
meeting  was  devoted  to  those  little  amenities,  typ 
ical  of  the  broad  minded. 

"Where  did  I  learn  my  English?"  Emperor 
King  Swa  replied  to  Father  Gladstone.  "As  the 
heir  apparent,  I  was  not  allowed  to  leave  my  coun 
try.  After  the  usual  Chinese  course  in  ethics,  geo 
graphy,  astronomy  and  some  other  sciences,  it  was 
my  good  fortune  to  have  as  tutor  a  former  Yale 
graduate,  Sam  Lung  by  nam.e  Mr.  Lung  took 
second  honors  in  his  class.  Being  an  observant 
man  he  saw  the  wonderful  hold  the  Brotherhood 
idea  had  on  America.  He  studied  it  and  became 
.a  convert.  He  taught  me  English,  and  collected 
for  me  a  library  of  standard  English  works.  In 
addition  he  showed  me  that  it  was  only  a  question 
of  time  until  the  Brotherhood  idea  would  domi 
nate  in  China.  It  several  years  ago  gained 
a  foothold,  and  its  converts  now  number  millions. 
I  have  become  convinced  that  it  is  the  right  gov 
ernmental  system,  and  will  welcome  its  establish 
ment  here.  Several  of  the  Viceroys,  and  thous 
ands  of  the  office  holders,  many  of  whom  I  know 
are  confirmed  grafters,  have  been  vigorous  in  urg 
ing  me  to  cling  to  traditional  government.  I  have 
at  heart  the  best  interests  of.  my  people,  and  so 
thoroughly  believe  in  Brotherhood  ideals  that  the 
loss  of  my  throne  is  nothing.  Threats  have  re 
cently  been  made  against  my  life  by  members  of 
the  Gen  Wing  faction,  several  adherents  of  which 

78 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

have  inborn  the  old,  almost  forgotten,  'foreign 
devil'  cry,  but  I  am  not  afraid  of  them,"  concluded 
this  real  Emperor,  as  he  straightened  up  and 
seemed  great  enough  to  vanquish  his  enemies  with 
his  logic.  I  instantly  became  a  warm  admirer  of 
this  ruler,  who  was  shrewd  enough  to  see  the 
trend  of  events  and  take  time  by  the  forelock. 

"I  shall  want  to  see  you  all  tomorrow  evening 
at  8,"  he  added,  "for  a  thorough  discussion  of 
Brotherhood  laws,  and  for  some  light  on  features 
now  obscure  to  me." 

"We  shall  be  glad  to  come,"  said  Father  Glad 
stone.  "We  want  to  give  all  the  impetus  possible 
to  the  movement  on  this  side  of  the  globe." 

Inasmuch  as  Raper  and  I  had  come  into  the  city 
together,  we  were  paired  for  a  lodging  place.  He 
and  I  became  the  guests  of  the  Titu,  or  Governor 
of  the  city,  who  lives  in  an  imposing  brick  man 
sion  directly  northwards  from  King  Shan,  or 
Prospect  Hill.  En  route  from  the  Imperial  Palace 
to  that  residence,  our  wish  to  view  the  city  from 
the  great  wall,  fifty  feet  high  and  forty  feet  wide 
at  the  top,  the  base  being  sixty,  was  readily 
granted. 

"Magnificent!"  exclaimed  Raper,  "I  had  no  idea 
the  city  was  so  beautiful." 

The  square  miles  of  city  before  us  looked  like 
a  huge  park,  dotted  here  and  there  with  buildings, 
the  upturned  roofs  of  which,  bright  in  tiles  of 
blue,  green  and  yellow,  glittered  in  the  sunlight. 

The  Titu's  home  was  a  dream  of  Oriental  lux- 


79 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

ury.  Chinese  artists  of  fame  had  been  given  carte 
blanche  to  decorate  the  house,  which,  with  its  great 
screens,  costly  bric-a-brac  and  truly  magnificent 
furniture,  was,  to  us,  a  source  of  unending  delight. 
The  Titu  was  a  man  of  great  personal  wealth, 
who,  we  learned  later,  did  not  take  kindly  to  the 
demand  of  the  millions  of  his  fellow  men,  to 
abandon  the  old  regime,  and  take  up  something 
new  from  across  the  broad  Pacific.  Not  by  word 
or  sign,  however,  did  he  give  any  indication  of  his 
hostility.  He  had  been  asked  to  entertain  us,  and 
he  did  so  with  a  grace  that  was  charming.  That 
night,  when  we  were  ushered  out  to  the  dining 
room,  great  was  my  surprise  to  find  the  Titu's 
daughter  next  to  me  at  the  table,  and  greater  still 
was  my  amazement  when  I  learned  that  she  was 
a  graduate  of  Vassar,  and  as  well  acquainted  in 
New  York  as  she  was  in  Peking.  Many  a  man 
has  gone  into  the  Orient,  expecting  to  encounter 
ignorance,  bigotry,  stupidity  and  superstition,  only 
to  find  the  structure  of  imagination  he  has  built 
up  false  from  foundation  to  roof. 

The  daughter's  name  was  Onwa  Ling  Lu.  She 
was,  in  truth,  a  Chinese  belle,  who  would  have 
graced  a  drawing  room  in  any  center  of  civiliza 
tion,  and  just  the  kind,  I  suppose,  Alice  had  in 
mind  at  the  Fratersurb  Station,  when  she  gave  me 
her  warning.  Miss  Onwa  was  dressed  in  a  style 
that  Gibson  girls,  Stanislaw  stunners  and  Fisher 
fairies  of  the  ultra- fashionable  days  of  years  ago 
could  have  found  no  fault  with.  She  was  dark, 

80 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

petite  and  vivacious.  With  an  olive  complexion, 
eyes  of  starry  brightness,  and  teeth  so  white  the 
surfeit  of  ivory  in  the  house,  by  comparison, 
looked  brown,  she  made  a  picture  for  a  painter. 

The  menu  was  typically  Chinese,  and  included 
the  inevitable  bird's  nest  soup,  bamboo  shoots, 
shark's  fins,  aged  eggs,  which  are  considered  a 
treat,  and  other  delicacies.  From  a  Chinese  gas 
tronomic  point  of  view  it  was  a  great  feast. 

The  Titu  had  received  an  English  education, 
and  the  degree  of  A.  B.  from  Oxford.  He  had 
always  leaned  toward  the  sciences,  and  things 
abstruse  never  failed  to  interest  him.  He  plied  ns 
»\  ill:  question  after  question  about  new  inventions 
in  Brotherhood  land,  and  was  interested  in  partic 
ular  in  the  new  steamships,  now  run  wholly  for 
health  purposes.  These  ships  are  a  mile  in  length 
and  accommodate  on  board  a  whole  city  of  moder 
ate  proportions.  Every  up  to  date  convenience  is 
supplied.  Among  them  is  a  trolley  line  that  runs 
clear  around  the  ship,  taking  passengers  from  one 
roint  to  another  without  delay. 

At  the  conclusion  of  our  dinner  the  host  took 
me  to  his  "den,"  as  he  chose  to  call  it,  a  long,  well 
lighted  room,  fitted  with  all  manner  of  scientific 
instruments.  Great  was  my  surprise  to  find  he 
had  a  communicator.  I  did  not  think  it  would 
carry  a  message  to  America,  but  he  assured  me  it 
would,  there  being  sounding  boards  of  strong  vi 
bratory  qualities  at  Guam  and  Honolulu.  Raper 
was  at  the  Aerograph  station. 

81 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

Later  the  Titu  showed  me  over  his  extensive 
grounds,  where  landscape  gardening  had  been  em 
ployed  on  a  large  scale.  It  was  some  time  later  that, 
alone,  I  strolled  back  to  the  house,  esconced  myself 
in  the  library  and  settled  down  for  perusal  of  the 
Peking  Daily  Gazette,  half  of  which  was-  at  this 
time  printed  in  English.  I  had  not  read  long,  when 
the  door  softly  opened  and  Miss  Onwa  burst  into 
the  room. 

"I  did  not  expect  to  find  you  here,  Mr.  Young," 
she  exclaimed.  "Are  you  going  to  the  dance  at 
the  British  Embassy  tonight?" 

"Knew  nothing  about  it,"  I  answered  promptly. 
"I  understand  that  you  Chinese  belles,  now  that 
you  have  given  up  foot  bandaging,  are  among  the 
most  graceful  dancers  in  the  world." 

"Flatterer !  I'll  wager  a  pair  of  Paris  gloves 
you  have  paid  compliments  to  many  an  American 
belle." 

"To  tell  the  truth  is  not  flattery/'  I  insisted. 

The  little  almond  eyed  beauty  burst  into  a  merry 
laugh  and  declared  that  Raper  and  I  must  go  to 
the  ball. 

As  she  flitted  from  the  room  a  picture  of  Alice, 
as  I  last  saw  her,  came  into  my  mind.  Why  not 
-call  her  up?  There  was  a  communicator  almost 
within  reach.  Pressing  an  electric  button  I  sum 
moned  Sam  Loy,  the  library  boy  (it  seems  there 
is  a  different  servant  for  each  room  in  the  house 
of  Chinese  dignitaries.) 

"Miss  Onwa,  Miss  Onwa,"  I   said   in  the  best 

82 


The  ivire  was  so  heavily  charged  that  its  touch  at  the 
exposed  point  meant  death." 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

Chinese  I  was  able  to  muster.  Sam  slunk  awayr 
to  be  followed  a  few  moments  later  by  a  swish  of 
skirts  that  told,  unmistakably,  of  the  approach  of 
the  daughter  of  the  house. 

"Your  communicator,  I  would  like  to  use  it,"  I 
started. 

"This  way,"  she  commanded,  I  a  willing  private 
to  her  role  of  captain. 

"The  switch  works  hard,"  she  explained.  "Now 
as  soon  as  you  have  finished  I  want  to  talk  with 
you  about  the  ball.  I  will  wait  right  here." 

After  some  delay  I  got  Alice's  home  by  the  way 
of  San  Francisco  and  Chicago.  The  minute  the 
Fratersurb  Exchange  cut  in  on  the  Meredith 
home,  Alice,  in  reflection,  appeared  on  the  large 
disc  in  front  of  me. 

Onwa  clapped  her  hands  in  joy.  "American 
girl !"  she  exclaimed,  as  she  came  running  toward 
me,  not  realizing  that  I  had  anything  of  a  confi 
dential  nature  to  say.  Onwa  came  closer  until  she 
was  almost  against  the  switch.  At  the  same  time 
there  was  a  sputtering  as  part  of  the  wire  sudden 
ly  exposed,  through  faulty  insulation,  came  in  con 
tact  with  the  iron  bracket  of  the  switch.  The  wire 
was  so  heavily  charged  that  its  touch  at  the  ex 
posed  point  meant  death.  Onwa  did  not  realize  her 
peril.  Scarcely  an  inch  intervened  between  her 
bare  wrist  and  the  dangerous  wire.  There  was 
but  one  thing  to  do.  The  time  was  too  short  for 
a  vocal  warning.  Throwing  out  my  free  arm,  I 
caught  her  about  the  waist  and  pulled  her 

83 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

against  me.  She  had  not  been  in  the  range  of  the 
reflector.  Alice  gave  a  look  of  amazement  and 
vanished.  I  did  not  know  whether  the  sudden  dis 
connection  was  due  to  the  electric  leak,  or  to  pos 
sible  misinterpretation  by  Alice,  of  the  presence  in 
my  arms  of  the  Chinese  maiden.  Here  was  a 
pretty  plight  for  a  man  who  was  virtually  engaged. 

"Miss  Onwa,"  I  stammered,  "excuse  me,  but 
didn't  you  see  how  close  you  were  to  death?" 

I  hurriedly  explained.  She  grew  pale,  fainted 
and  fell  back  limp  in  my  arms.  At  the  same  mo 
ment  the  door  opened  and  the  Titu  strode  into  the 
room. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
BATTLE  OF  WITS. 


Extol  not  riches,   then,   the  toll  of  fools, 
The  wise  man's  cumbrance,  if  not  snare,  more  apt, 
To   slacken   virtue   and   abate   her   edge, 
Than  prompt  her  to  do  aught  may  merit  praise. 
— Milton's  Paradise  Regained. 


When  the  Titu  learned  that  I  had  saved  his 
daughter's  life  he  was  gratitude  personified.  He 
was  my  escort  that  night  to  the  palace  for  a  dis 
cussion  of  the  Brotherhood  system.  That  day  I 
had  made  five  trips  to  the  aerograph  station  for 
the  expected  message  from  Alice.  There  was  none, 
which  was  a  mystery.  Alice  always  kept  her  word. 
There  was  something  wrong  somewhere. 

The  foremost  men  of  the  Chinese  Empire  were 
in  the  Assembly  Hall  at  the  Palace  for  the  mem 
orable  meeting,  which,  the  next  day,  was  given 
first  place  in  the  world's  events  by  the  newspapers. 
The  Emperor  and  Father  Gladstone  occupied 
chairs  side  by  side  on  the  dais.  To  each  side  were 
members  of  our  party,  Viceroys,  Mandarins,  other 
officials,  teachers,  authors,  scientists  and  sociolo 
gists.  The  yellow  peacock  feather  and  loose  silk 
coats  and  baggy  trousers  of  hues  as  varied  as  those 

85 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

of  the  rainbow  were  in  evidence.  In  the  audi 
torium,  which  was  filled  to  the  back  walls,  there 
was  the  same  variety  of  bright  colors.  From 
where  I  sat  on  the  dais,  surveying  the  audience 
was  like  looking  through  a  huge  kaleidoscope.  It 
was  at  exactly  eight  o'clock  that  the  Emperor  arose 
and  tersely  stated  the  object  of  the  meeting. 

''My  friends,"  he  began,  "we  are  honored  with 
the  presence  tonight  of  Father  Gladstone,  the  fore 
most  exponent  of  Brotherhood  Government.  I  as 
sume  much  of  the  responsibility  for  his  presence 
in  China.  As  many  of  you  know,  I  have,  for  sev 
eral  years,  given  much  study  to  the  science  of  gov 
ernment.  The  conviction  has  grown  on  me  that  in 
Brother  hod  laws,  most  of  the  knotty  problems  of 
»•  government  have  been  solved.  I  am  so  much  of 
an  idealist  that  my  throne  is,  relatively,  unimport 
ant.  I  want  to  see  our  people  as  happy  as  it  is  pos 
sible  for  them  to  be.  If  it  is  the  concensus  of  opin 
ion  among  you  that  Twenty-second  century  gov 
ernment,  as  exemplified  in  the  Brotherhood  idea, 
is  the  thing  for  China,  then  I  am  for  the  change." 

There  was  vigorous  handclapping  from  all  over 
the  room.  The  Emperor,  as  Raper  put  it,  made  a 
ten  strike. 

"Father  Gladstone  will  now  address  us,"  the 
Emperor  concluded.  He  stepped  back,  took  the 
Brotherhood  leader  by  the  hand,  led  him  forward 
and  introduced  him. 

"Brothers,"  Father  Gladstone  said,  as  he  coolly 
measured  the  size  and  the  character  of  his  audi- 

86 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

ence,  "I  would  be  recreant  to  duty  if  I  failed  to 
publicly  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  your 
Emperor  for  his  gracious  welcome  and  hospitality. 
Rulers  in  the  past  have  abdicated  their  thrones  for 
-one  reason  or  another.  The  record  of  kingdoms 
and  empires  is  dotted  with  such  incidents.  Some 
times  the  throne  was  abdicated  through  fear, 
sometimes  for  sex  love,  and  sometimes  on  account 
of  old  age.  Never  before  in  all  history,  however, 
is  there  any  record  of  a  sovereign,  for  purely  un 
selfish  reasons,  voluntarily  offering  to  relinquish 
his  crown  to  give  impetus  to  a  great  social  move 
ment.  Brothers,  you  have  among  you,  in  your 
ruler,  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  all  times." 

There  was  another  outburst  of  applause.  It  was 
noticeable  that  one  section  of  the  auditorium  was 
singularly  silent. 

"See  Gen  Wing  over  there?"  Raper  whispered. 
He  pointed  to  a  corner  where  a  Chinaman  of 
about  60  years  of  age,  having  a  fierce  mustache 
that  was  trying  to  run  back  of  his  ears,  was  the 
centre  of  a  sullen  group.  "If  I  am  not  mistaken 
there  is  going  to  be  some  trouble  here  tonight," 
Raper  added. 

"Now,  my  brothers,"  Father  Gladstone  con 
tinued,  "this  is  your  meeting.  I  am  here  to  answer 
questions  and  to  give  you  information.  Ideal  gov 
ernments,  so-called,  have  tried  to  make  all  men 
equal.  For  years  they  succeeded  only  theoretical 
ly.  It  appears  to  be  settled,  beyond  controversy, 
that  the  great  aim  of  reform  governments,  dating 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

from  the  time  European  kings  were  deposed,  was 
to  bring  about  as  far  as  possible,  equality  among 
men.  Constitutions  were  adopted  and  laws  were 
framed  with  that  object  in  view.  In  one  way'  or 
another  well  meant  plans  always  failed  until  the 
Brotherhood  idea  of  government  was  launched. 
The  few  had  always  secured  special  privileges  at 
the  expense,  of  necessity,  of  the  many.  Laws  for 
years  for  the  regulation  of  the  greedy  proved  in 
effective,  because  they  were  not  enforced.  This 
is  all  a  matter  of  comparatively  recent  history.  It 
is  remarkable  that  the  municipal  ownership  idea 
had  its  birth  in  England,  where  two  centuries  ago 
it  had  spread  to  such  proportions  that  hundreds  of 
towns  were  affected,  all  to  decided  advantage  of 
the  people.  It  was  in  Europe  that  government 
ownership  of  railroads  and  telegraphs  originated. 
It  made  its  appearance  in  the  United  States  in  the 
postal  system.  After  several  years'  incubation,  it 
suddenly  seemed  like  wildfire  to  sweep  with  irre 
sistible  force  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the 
other.  Its  wisdom  is  no  longer  questioned.  The 
idea  grew  with  the  aggressions  of  the  plutocrats. 
All  was  not  easy  sailing.  There  were  hidden  rocks 
and  rough  seas.  As  there  is  no  pleasure  without 
pain,  so  there  is  no  success  without  effort.  When 
Brotherhood  government  was  first  proposed  the 
idea  was  ridiculed  by  those  whose  ancestors  had 
been  Tories  when  the  republic  was  in  embryo. 
There  were  many  causes  that  contributed  to  the 
success  of  the  Brotherhood  movement.  One  was 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

the  accumulation  of  great  fortunes  by  a  few 
men,  another  defiance  of  laws  by  the  plutocrats, 
and  a  third  ridicule  by  them  of  the  courts,  some 
of  which  in  a  Western  state  were  bought  and  sold 
as  wanted  for  use.  The  people  were  patient  for 
a  long  time  in  the  face  of  these  abuses,  but  even 
tually  the  protests  that  were  made  resulted  in  a 
complete  change  in  the  personnel  of  Congress  and 
the  State  Legislatures.  Sweeping  reforms  were 
inaugurated,  and,  finally,  successful  Brotherhood 
government  superseded  the  old  system.  The  ac 
cumulation  by  one  man  of  $400,000,000  in  a  busi 
ness  lifetime,  say  40  years,  was  one  of  the  potent 
illustrations  used  by  those  fighting  special  privi 
leges,  as  manifested  in  monopoly,  railroad  rebates 
and  widespread  corruption.  Some  writers  have 
since  placed  this  one  man's  wealth  at  $1,000,000,- 
ooo.  Using  the  first  figures  mentioned  as  a  basis 
for  computation,  it  is  seen  that  this  man  made  an 
average  of  a  million  dollars  every  month.  His 
wealth  producing  power  was  equal  to  that  of  17,- 
ooo  men  working  at  $2  per  day.  The  Brotherhood 
plan  of  limiting  fortunes  is  old.  It  was  given  some 
impetus  back  in  1906,  when  President  Theodore 
Roosevelt  proposed  a  progressive  tax  on  incomes. 
The  evil  had  been  recognized  long  years  before 
that.  In  those  days  there  lived  a  great  editor  by 
the  name  of  Henri  Watterson.  His  paper  was  the 
Louisville  Courier  Journal.  On  April  18,  1906,  he 
said  editorially  of  the  Roosevelt  proposition :  The 
utterance  of  the  President  is  just  as  radical,  just 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

as  far  reaching  and  just  as  pertinent  as  that  of 
President  Lincoln,  when  he  said:  *I  believe  the 
government  cannot  endure  half  free  and  half 
slave.  As  slavery  was  the  menace  of  the  union  in 
1858,  is  money  its  menace  now?  As  slavery  built 
up  an  oligarchy  in  the  South,  is  money  building  up 
a  plutocracy  in  the  East?  Just  as  it  was  true  that 
the  government  could  not  endure  half  free  and 
half  slave  is  it  true  that  if  the  government  does 
not  destroy  the  plutocracy,  the  plutocracy  will  de 
stroy  the  government.' 

"The  newspapers  of  the  day  contained  state 
ments  from  the  money  kings,  in  which  the  pro 
posed  tax  was  excoriated.  One  U.  S.  Senator, 
rated  at  $70,000,000,  forthwith  declared  that  he 
would  at  once  deliver  a  speech  in  the  Senate  in 
opposition  to  the  proposed  measure. 

"Eventually  individual  wealth  was  limited.  The 
present  limit  for  any  one  person  is  $50,000.  The 
idea  has  worked  so  well,  without  causing  the  pre 
dicted  stagnation  in  the  affairs  of  men,  that  I  now 
firmly  believe  the  time  will  come  when  the  limit 
will  be  reduced  to  $25,000.  We  still  have  our  rich 
and  our  poor,  but  we  have  no  great  extremes  as 
in  the  past.  Ambition  has  not  been  stifled,  enter 
prise  is  not  at  a  standstill  and  colossal  undertak 
ings  have  not  been  abandoned.  The  world  today 
is  moving  forward  at  a  faster  pace  than  ever  be 
fore  in  its  history." 

Gen  Wing  had  grown  red  in  the  face.     Sputter- 

90 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

ing  he  arose  and  requested  permission  to  ask  a 
question. 

"Is  it  right,"  he  inquired,  "to  reward  the  indus 
trious  and  idle  alike?" 

"We  do  not  do  so,"  was  Father  Gladstone's 
prompt  answer.  "Industry  with  us  still  has  its  re 
ward.  He  that  will  not  work  cannot  have  the  good 
raiment  or  palatable  food  that  his  industrious 
brother  enjoys.  In  our  schools  the  curriculum  has 
been  vastly  changed,  so  that  children,  from  primer 
to  geometry,  are  taught  unselfishness,  industry  and 
governmental  evils  of  the  past.  Inasmuch  as  ed 
ucation  is  compulsory,  the  finished  young  man  has 
pretty  well  defined  ideas  about  the  Brotherhood 
movement,  and  is  invariably  its  warm  champion." 

"Don't  you  interfere  with  property  rights?" 
Gen.  Wing  again  interrogated. 

"Yes,"  was  the  unexpected  answer  of  Father 
Gladstone.  "We  keep  the  selfish  from  taking  that 
which  never  did  belong  to  them." 

Gen  Wing,  as  red  as  a  lobster,  sat  down  and 
tried  to  get  back  farther  into  the  corner. 

Mandarin  Ah  Tung,  a  member  of  the  Wing  fac 
tion,  arose  and  asked  permission  to  speak.  His 
request  was  graciously  granted  by  both  Father 
Gladstone  and  the  Emperor.  Ah  Tung  was  the 
typical  scholar  in  appearance.  He  had  a  large 
head,  a  clean  shaven  face  and  a  judicial  air.  Large 
rimmed  glasses  partially  concealed  his  eyes.  His 
arguments  were  the  same  that  had  been  made  dec 
ades  before  against  the  Brotherhood. 

91 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

Beginning,  he  said :  "When  I  was  in  college  we 
were  taught  the  laissez  faire  system  of  gov 
ernment,  the  right  of  individual  control.  We 
looked  on  the  postal  service  under  government 
control  with  suspicion.  Times  have  changed,  but 
I  still  think  the  system  a  sound  one.  Many  of  the 
advocates  of  this  policy  are  those  whose  struggle 
for  a  living  has  been  severe  and  unsuccessful. 
When,  however,  you  find  among  college  graduates 
men  who  are  swayed  by  their  emotions,  you  find 
a  class  of  persons  with  whom  it  is  hard  to  be  pa 
tient.  I  hope  that  China  will  not  make  the  pro 
posed  change." 

Father  Gladstone  was  on  his  feet  in  a  moment. 
"You  must  know,"  he  said,  answering  the  man 
darin,  "that  the  Brotherhood  system  of  govern 
ment  is  an  absolute  success.  We  do  not  now  and 
never  have  opposed  individual  control  of  private 
property,  but  in  the  interests  of  the  many  we  are 
as  unalterably  opposed  to  unlimited  wealth  in  the 
hands  of  one  individual  as  we  are  opposed  to  the 
system  which  resulted  in  the  extremely  rich  and  the 
extremely  poor.  If  I  tonight  were  by  physical  su 
per  ority,  to  rob  my  neighbor,  all  would  say  I  was 
guilty  of  a  crime.  Under  the  old  system  I  could 
rob  him,  not  by  physical  supremacy,  but  by  leg 
islative  enactment,  and  not  suffer  for  it.  For  in 
stance,  a  dozen  of  us,  engaged  in  the  same  busi 
ness,  could  combine  and  secure  the  imposition  of 
a  heavy  tariff  on  the  article  we  manufactured.  By 
shutting  out  foreign  competition  and  controlling 

92 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

the  home  market  we  could  make  our  profits  as 
great  as  we  desired. 

"Is  there,  after  all,  much  difference  between  that 
kind  of  robbery  and  holding  a  man  up  in  the  high 
way?  The  securing  of  special  privileges  in  the 
past  made  many  men  millionaires.  Their  fortunes 
were  built  on  a  system  of  polite  brigandage." 

"The  man  who  takes  risks  in  investing  large 
sums  of  capital  and  giving  employment  to  hun 
dreds  of  men  is  entitled  to  special  privileges,"  Ah 
Tung  speciously  argued. 

"Why?"  Father  Gladstone  interrogated. 

"Because  he  should  receive  more  than  an  or 
dinary  reward  for  taking  a  step  far  in  advance  of 
his  fellow  men." 

"That  is  the  same  old  argument,"  Father  Glad 
stone  retorted.  "Pursuit  of  the  plan  resulted  years 
ago  in  the  virtual  ownership  of  the  United  States 
by  approximately  50  men.  They  either  owned  or 
controlled  all  of  the  railroads,  and  by  controlling 
the  trusts  fixed  the  prices  of  food  stuffs,  clothing, 
building  material  and  even  the  caskets  in  which 
men  were  laid  away  to  rest.  They  had  70,000,000 
people  absolutely  at  their  mercy. 

"How  does  this  harmonize  with  the  idea  of  'a 
government  of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for 
the  people?'  If  God  made  the  air  so  that  all  could 
breathe  it  alike,  why  isn't  it  true  that  he  made  the 
land,  with  its  varied  wealth,  for  the  equal  enjoy 
ment  of  all?  Primarily  did  the  earth  belong  to  all 
alike  or  to  a  few  individuals,  who  by  said  owner- 

93 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

ship  virtually  controlled  the  destinies  of  their  fel 
low  creatures?  After  all  the  real  object  of  gov 
ernment  should  be  the  people's  happiness.  Who 
is  there  that  dars  say  that  was  the  result  under  the 
old  system,  when  the  spirit  of  trying  to  elbow  your 
neighbor  out  of  the  way  dominated?" 

Ah  Tung  was,  in  the  parlance  of  the  old  fron 
tier,  still  loaded  for  bear.  He  continued:  "The 
right  of  property  has  played  quite  as  important  a 
part  in  human  progress  as  in  human  liberty.  The 
laborer  must  have  the  right  to  enjoy  what  his  in 
dustry  has  produced.  What  one  had  the  right  to 
enjoy  he  had  the  right  to  give  to  another  to  enjoy, 
and  so  the  transmission  of  property  became  fixed, 
and  property  passed  from  one  generation  to  an 
other.  The  institution  of  private  property  has  led 
to  the  capital  of  the  world.  Without  it  the  world 
would  still  be  groping  In  darkness." 

"Is  that  latter  sentence  correct?"  Father  Glad 
stone  asked.  "It  is  the  argument  of  the  plutocrats. 
If  you  deny  that  the  purpose  of  government  is  to 
bring  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number, 
then  possibly  there  is  some  basis  for  this  conten 
tion.  If  the  old  fallacy  that  the  world  was  made 
for  the  enjoyment  of  a  favored  few  is  to  be  fol 
lowed  blindly,  then  the  Brotherhood  system  is 
wrong.  But  it  was  not.  The  plutocrat  has  taken 
and  still  takes  special  privileges  as  he  can.  He  con 
siders  himself  a  superior  being,  to  whom  the 
poorer  and  meaner  should  pay  adoration.  Thank 
the  Lord  the  plutocrat,  years  ago,  as  far  as  our 

94 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

land  is  concerned,  had  the  scales  knocked  from  his 
eyes,  and  was  shown  that  he  was  not  entitled  to 
favors.  The  tribute  that  the  whole  world  once 
paid  to  money,  making  it  superior  to  everything 
else,  honesty,  virtue,  talent  and  genius,  undoubted 
ly  had  much  to  do  with  the  assumption  by  the  plu 
tocrat  of  unusual  rights.  Mr.  Ah  Tung,  your  ar 
gument  sounds  suspiciously  like  a  political  speech 
of  one  of  the  great  politicians  of  200  years  ago." 

Ah  Tung  was  on  his  feet  again,  this  time  with 
this  argument:  "The  only  way  a  man  can  enjoy 
the  fruit  of  his  labor  is  to  give  to  all  others  the 
right  to  enjoy  theirs.  Yet  we  are  told  that  we 
must  divide  up  wealth.  I  am  confident  that  while 
there  are  some  morbid  thinkers  among  university 
graduates,  we  can  safely  believe  that  most  of  them 
are  sane  and  will  set  their  faces  against  the  pro 
posed  distribution  of  private  property." 

"Mr.  Ah  Tung,"  Father  Gladstone  replied.  "We 
want  men  to  enjoy  the  fruit  of  their  labor.  In  ad 
dition  we  don't  want  one  man  to  enjoy  the  fruit 
of  other  men's  work;  in  other  words  we  do  not 
want  him  to  have  that  to  which  he  is  not  entitled 
by  any  moral,  social  or,  if  you  please,  legal  right, 
for  as  a  rule  large  fortunes  have  been  built  on  the 
wreck  of  some  wisely  framed  law  or  just  prin 
ciple.  Men  have  worked  co-operatively  from  the 
first.  Even  the  trusts  of  the  past  were  co-opera 
tive.  Why  has  it  not  been  a  good  thing  to  extend 
the  idea  to  include  all  of  the  people? 

"If  a  man  is  found  with  that  which  does  not  be- 

95 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

long  to  him,  why  should  he  not  be  compelled  to 
turn  it  over  to  the  rightful  owners?  Some  of  the 
worst  anarchists  of  the  past  have  been  those  mag 
nates  who  brazenly  defied  the  laws,  bought  up 
judges,  and,  like  the  kings  of  old,  laughed  at  the 
claims  of  the  people  that  their  rights  had  been  vio 
lated.  Life  at  its  longest  is  short,  and  in  the  time 
that  man  is  on  earth  he  should  truly  know,  by  his 
experiences,  that  all  men  are  created  free  and 
equal." 

The  report  of  the  meeting  was  read  with  wide 
spread  interest  all  over  the  world.  A  committee 
was  appointed,  which  two  hours  later  brought  in  a 
report  that  China  adopt  Brotherhood  government. 
Our  mission  had  been  successful,  and  a  day  later 
we  began  preparations  for  our  trip  to  the  base  of 
the  Himalayas.  These  preparations  included  the 
addition  of  emergency  tubes  to  the  ships  of  our 
fleet.  Would  our  expectations  be  realized?  Would 
the  new  light,  about  which  little  was  known,  prove 
as  wonderful  as  anticipated? 


"Over  green  plains  and  brown  and  gray  mountains 
we  sped." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
UNDER  MT.  EVEREST. 


The  whispering  air 

Sends   inspiration  from   the   mountain  heights. 

— Wadsworth. 


The  last  thing  I  did  before  we  left  Peking  was 
to  visit  the  aerograph  station,  hoping  there  would 
be  a  message  there  from  Fratersurb.  Disappoint 
ment  was  my  lot.  The  understrapper  in  charge 
said  with  an  asperity,  characteristic  of  many  of  his 
kind,  that  there  was  nothing  for  me.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  for  me  to  say  that  I  was  deeply  grieved. 
With  a  heavy  heart  I  went  to  the  projectile  sta 
tion.  We  were  due  to  leave  at  9  a.  m.  A  great 
party  of  distinguished  Chinese,  headed  by  the  Em 
peror,  was  down  to  see  us  off.  Master  Sykes,  af 
ter  carefully  getting  his  bearings,  turned  the  prow 
of  our  ship  a  little  more  to  the  southwest.  There 
were  fervent  farewells  and  the  signal  for  the  start 
was  given.  Over  green  plains  and  brown  and  gray 
mountains  we  sped,  all  with  rapidly  beating  hearts 
in  anticipation  of  unusual  experiences.  Our  desti 
nation  was  Kunchinjinga,  the  nearest  large  town 
to  Mt.  Everest.  But  for  the  fact  that  the  white 
peak  of  that  greatest  mountain  was  so  conspicuous, 

97 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

we  probably  would  have  experienced  difficulty  in 
coming  down  at  the  right  spot.  Our  ships  came  to 
rest  on  the  green  sward  just  outside  the  city.  Na 
tives,  with  wonderment  written  on  their  faces, 
flocked  to  the  scene.  At  first  they  were  diffident 
and  kept  at  some  distance.  Friendly  signs  made 
encouraged  them  and  they  came  closer.  Our  de 
light  was  great  when  Roger  Brown,  representing 
a  London  mining  company,  greeted  us  with  a  cheery 
"Good  morning."  These  were  about  the  most  wel 
come  words  I  had  heard  in  days. 

He  was  a  large,  well  built  man  with  blue  eyes 
and  a  red  face  that  told  of  good  living. 

''Where  are  you  going  and  where  are  you  from?" 
he  asked. 

"From  Fratersurb  and  now  bound  for  home," 
Master  Sykes  and  Clarke  said  in  unison.  "Just 
from  Peking,"  Reid  added. 

"I  shall  be  glad  to  be  your  host  here,"  the  Brit 
isher  remarked  cordially. 

"The  accommodations  are  poor,  but,  I  think,  I 
can  make  it  worth  your  while  to  stay  a  day  or  so." 
For  the  party  Father  Gladstone  accepted  the  in 
vitation.  The  natives  were  now  fairly  swarming 
around  the  different  airships  and  were  examining 
every  part  of  the  machines  with  keen  interest.  I 
turned  and  looked  around  me  with  varying  emo 
tions.  Off  to  the  northwest  was  Mt.  Everest,  meas 
uring  29,002  feet  in  height.  The  huge  pile  of  earth 
and  rock,  the  summit  almost  lost  in  the  clouds  that 
morning,  hung  over  us  with  ominous  portent;  at 

98 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

least  I  felt  so,  being  gloomy  and  dejected.  Turn 
ing  around  I  surveyed  the  town,  largely  a  collec 
tion  of  huts,  except  for  some  yellow  buildings  on  a 
square,  and  some  rather  pretentious  residences  at 
the  southern  edge.  Except  for  the  massiveness 
and  grandeur  of  the  mountains,  there  was  nothing 
attractive  about  us.  A  party  of  Brahmin  priests 
stood  on  the  edge  of  the  crowd,  which  had  grown 
with  the  passing  of  each  minute.  Some  of  the  na 
tives  fancied  we  were  messengers  from  Heaven, 
and  were  as  ready  to  worship  us  as  the  American 
Indians  were  eager  to  adore  Christopher  Colum 
bus  and  his  followers.  The  moment  Father  Glad 
stone  saw  the  priests  he  made  his  way  to  them  and 
presented  a  letter  he  carried.  One  of  the  number 
read  it  and  beckoned  to  the  Englishman.  With  the 
latter  as  interpreter  we  were  told  that  the  great 
Brahmin  of  the  locality,  Marayan  Krishna,  was  at 
home.  The  letter  was  an  open  sesame  to  him.  Fa 
ther  Gladstone  indicated  that  we  wanted  to  see 
him.  Guides  were  provided.  One  of  them,  a  young 
man  of  20,  spoke  English,  which  he  had  learned  in 
a  school  in  Madras.  Our  Mecca  was  two  miles 
away.  The  path  was  a  rough  and  stony  one,  and 
walking  was  a  necessity.  After  two  hours  of  tire 
some  trudging  we  came  in  sight  of  the  great  man's 
abode.  It  was  a  simple  hut,  set  against  a  rocky  wall. 
About  three  hundred  feet  away  a  small  waterfall 
sparkled  in  the  sun.  The  hut  was  carpetless,  and 
bore  evidence  that  the  occupant  led  the  simplest 
life.  He  was  nowhere  in  sight.  We  sat  down 

99 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

on  the  uneven  ground  to  wait.  Presently  the 
priest,  bearing  on  his  back  a  bundle  of  faggots, 
emerged  from  some  underbrush  to  the  rear.  He  was 
apparently  70  years  of  age.  When  he  had  thrown 
his  load  to  the  ground  and  straightened  up  I  mar 
velled  at  his  bearing.  It  was  military  if  not  regal. 
He  stood  erect  and  looked  at  us  with  piercing 
black  eyes,  as  if  reading  our  inmost  thoughts.  He 
wore  a  brown  robe  or  surtout,  with  a  hood  hang 
ing  down  his  back.  His  face,  which  had  been  a 
study  in  stolidness,  lighted  up  when  he  read  the 
letter  Father  Gladstone  presented.  The  two  shook 
hands  with  great  warmth  and  cordiality.  Later 
there  was  an  introduction  all  around.  Through 
the  interpreter  the  two  leaders  talked  at  length. 

"How  is  our  devout  brother,  Arine  Brishna,  who 
is  now  in  your  land?"  the  Brahmin  inquired. 

It  was  from  him  that  Father  Gladstone  had  ob 
tained  the  letter  which  unlocked  the  doors  to  the 
priest's  heart. 

"He  is  well  and  sent  his  love  by  me,"  Father 
Gladstone  replied. 

"You  come  for  what?"  the  priest  asked. 

"To  see  the  great  light,"  was  the  answer. 

"I  am  glad  of  it,"  the  priest  said.  "You  are  not 
missionaries.  We  have  more  religion  of  our  own 
than  we  know  what  to  do  with ;  in  fact,  a  surplus 
that  we  would  like  to  export.  If  you  want  to 
Christianize  us  send  us  some  men  that  are  quali 
fied  to  teach.  Until  then  the  Vedas,  our  four  books 
of  philosophy,  are  good  enough  for  us." 

100 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

"We  teach  the  Golden  Rule,  the  simplest  and  the 
greatest  doctrine,"  Father  Gladstone  answered. 

"It  was  in  your  country,"  the  priest  continued, 
"that  great  extremes  m  wealth  and  poverty  ex 
isted";  and  then  he  quoted  not  from  his  but  our 
Bible.  That  incident  at  once  elevated  him  in  my 
mind  to  the  skies. 

Here  is  what  he  quoted  according  to  the  inter 
preter:  "Go  to  now,  ye  rich  men,  weep  and  howl 
for  your  miseries  that  shall  come  upon  you.  Your 
riches  are  corrupted,  and  your  garments  are  moth 
eaten." 

"Your  gold  and  silver  is  cankered;  and  the  rust 
of  them  shall  be  a  witness  against  you,  and  shall 
eat  your  flesh  as  it  were  fire.  You  have  heaped 
treasure  together  for  the  last  days." 

"Ye  have  lived  in  pleasure  on  the  earth  and  been 
wanton ;  ye  have  nourished  your  hearts  as  in  a  day 
of  slaughter.  Ye  have  condemned  and  killed  the 
just  and  he  doth  not  resist  you."  James  5 :  1-3,  5-7. 

"We  have  reformed  our  part  of  the  world," 
Father  Gladstone  answered.  "We  have  gotten  back 
to  basic  principles.  We  have  not  had  anything  in 
particular  against  the  rich  man,  realizing  that  he 
was  the  creature  of  a  false  system.  Brotherhood 
has  corrected  this  system." 

"You  do  not  call  your  system  Socialism,"  the 
priest  said.  "You  threw  aside  the  objectionable 
features  of  that  creed  and  adopted  the  good.  Do 
you  know  that  I  have  in  my  library  a  remarkable 
prediction,  made  two  hundred  years  ago,  following 

101 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

the  great  religious  congress  in  Chicago,  by  an  em 
inent  religious  teacher  of  your  country  ?  His  name, 
let  me  see,  Archbishop  J.  J.  Glennon,  of  St. 
Louis.  He  said  as  nearly  as  I  can  remember, 
(what  a  remarkable  memory  this  man  had),  some 
thing  like  this:  'The  social  fabric  appears  today 
to  be  in  imminent  danger,  because  old  principles 
are  ignored  and  old  foundations  attacked.  What 
was  held  as  law  is  now  regarded  as  injustice ;  what 
was  held  as  government  is  now  deemed  tyranny. 
Men  no  longer  hold  the  duty  of  obedience  to  power, 
nor  admit  that  power  should  claim  a  divine  sanc 
tion.  Government  as  it  is  must  change.  Laws  as 
now  written  must  be  modified,  and  the  principles 
of  old,  deemed  sacred,  must  give  way  to  the  new 
order,  the  new  principles  based  on  what  they  would 
claim  must  lead  to  the  absolute  social,  civic,  psychic 
and  physical  equality  of  men.  In  other  words  we 
must  socialize  the  entire  people.  We  must  tear 
down  the  mighty  from  their  seats  and  elevate  those 
of  low  degree.  Property  rights,  vested  interests, 
private  ownership  all  must  go.  It  is  humanity  that 
alone  may  remain,  and  all  of  the  principle  and 
tradition  of  written  law  must  yield  to  the  new  gos 
pel,  the  socialization  of  the  people.  It  was  folly 
to  deny  that  the  shadow  of  socialism  is  hanging 
over  the  land,  and  while  learned  men  are  busy 
pointing  out  its  unreasonableness,  its  injustice,  its 
lack  of  feasibility,  the  shadow  deepens,  the  preach 
ers  capitulate  and  the  leaders  grow  more  auda- 


102 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

"How  prophetic  it  all  sounds,"  Father  Gladstone 
exclaimed,  "in  the  light  of  the  developments  of  the 
last  two  hundred  years.  It  is  the  more  remarkable, 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Archbishop  was  the  rep 
resentative  of  a  great  religious  organization  that 
had  years  before  strongly  declared  against  social 
ism." 

"You  want  to  see  the  light?  Come  then,"  the 
priest  said. 

We  followed  him  up  and  down  a  rocky  path  un 
til  we  came  to  a  large  stone  building,  occupying  a 
site,  commanding  a  view  of  a  beautiful  valley.  It 
was  the  home  of  the  priests  of  the  locality  and  the 
home  of  our  priest,  except  when  he  chose  to  go  off 
to  his  hut  and  live  in  the  simplicity  of  the  earliest 
days. 

A  long  wooden  trough  conveyed  a  small  stream 
of  mountain  water  into  a  shed-like  building  that 
stood  to  the  right  of  the  main  structure.  Straight 
to  the  door  the  priest  led  us. 


103 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
LIGHT  FROM  WATER. 


True   religion   is   always   mild,   propitious,   humble, 
Plays  not  the  tyrant,   plants  no  faith  in  blood; 
Nor  bears  destruction  on  her  chariot  wheels; 
But  stoops   to  polish,   succor,   and  redress, 
And  builds  her  grandeur  on   the   public  good. 

—Miller's  Mahomet. 


A  problem  once  solved  is  easy.  The  arts  of  mak 
ing  malleable  glass  and  of  hardening  copper,  to  say 
nothing  of  embalming,  known  to  the  ancients,  and 
lost  three  thousand  years  ago,  were  found  a  few 
years  back  to  be  exceedingly  simple.  In  the  gulf  be 
tween  the  remote  past  and  the  present,  thousands 
had  tried  in  vain  to  discover  the  secrets.  Man  in 
vents  something  new.  It  commands  an  enormous 
sale.  Everybody  looks  at  it  and  says  the  same 
thing — "It's  a  wonder  some  one  did  not  think  of 
that  long  ago." 

Once  inside  the  building,  housing  the  mysteri 
ous  light  and  fuel,  we  looked  around  with  keen  in 
terest.  The  structure  was  about  forty  feet  square. 
Near  the  centre  was  an  iron  cylinder,  looking  not 
unlike  one  of  the  old  so-called  cannon  stoves,  ex 
cept  at  the  top  there  was  a  funnel-like  hopper  and 

104 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

around  the  periphery,  several  curled  pipes  of  dif 
ferent  diameters  with  valves,  cut-offs  and  gauges. 

"The  interior  of  the  stove,  retort  or  generator," 
our  priest  cicerone  explained  through  the  inter 
preter,  "is  entirely  free  from  chemicals." 

At  his  request,  the  interpreter  removed  a  cat 
head  large  enough  for  us  to  peer  in.  We  could  not 
see  much  except  a  small  hollow  place,  topped  and 
bottomed  with  iron  plates,  slightly  incrusted  with 
lime.  This  was  Clarke's  opportunity  to  get  busy. 
While  we  were  all  peeking  around,  trying  to  find 
the  hidden  mystery,  the  ubiquitous  newspaper  man 
began :  "I  have  it.  It  is  an  old  idea,  but  one  that 
was  never  made  of  commercial  value.  The  plan  is 
to  make  gas  from  water  by  a  proper  use  of  its  two 
gases,  oxygen  and  hydrogen." 

Clarke,  by  this  time,  had  taken  the  lecturing  air 
of  a  college  professor,  and  continued  with  some 
pedantry:  "Hydrogen  gas,  you  know,  readily 
burns  in  oxygen  or  air  with  formation  of  vaoor  of 
water.  I  am  speaking  of  the  so-called  oxyhydro- 
gen  flame.  The  quantity  of  heat  evolved,  according 
to  Thomsen,  amounts  to  34,116  units  for  every  unit 
of  weight  of  hydrogen  burned,  which  means  that, 
supposing  the  two  gases  were  originally  at  the  tem 
perature  of,  say  o  degrees  C,  to  bring  the  hot  steam 
produced  into  the  condition  of  liquid  water  of 
o  degrees  C  we  must  withdraw  from  it  a  quantity 
of  heat  equal  to  that  necessary  to  raise  34,116 
units  of  weight  of  liquid  water  from  o  de 
grees  to  i  degree  C.  The  heat  disturbance  is 

105 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

quite  independent  of  the  particular  mode  in  which 
the  process  is  conducted.  It  is  the  same  for  in 
stance,  whether  pure  oxygen  or  air  be  used  as  a  re 
agent,  being  neither  more  or  less  than  the  balance 
of  energy  between  one  part  of  hydrogen  plus  eight 
parts  of  oxygen  on  the  one  hand,  and  nine  parts  of 
liquid  water  on  the  other." 

"Rah  for  Clarke,"  shouted  Raper  and  Wallace. 

"It's  Dr.  Clarke  after  this,"  Wallace  added.  "Go 
on!" 

Clarke  did,  and  as  follows:  "The  temperature 
of  the  flame,  on  the  other  hand,  does  depend  on 
the  circumstances  under  which  the  process  takes 
place.  It  obviously  obtains  its  maximum  in  the  case 
of  the  firing  of  pure  'oxyhydrogen'  gas,  that  is  a 
mixture  of  hydrogen  with  exactly  half  its  volume 
of  oxygen,  the  quantity  it  combines  within  becom 
ing  water.  It  becomes  less  when  the  'oxyhydrogen' 
is  mixed  with  the  excess  of  one  or  the  other  of  the 
two  co-reagents  or  an  inert  gas,  such  as  nitrogen, 
because  in  any  such  case  the  small  amount  of  heat 
spreads  over  a  large  quantity  of  matter." 

"Done?"  asked  Raper. 

"Yes,"  snapped  Clarke,  showing  considerable 
perturbation. 

The  Brahmin  had  listened  with  attention,  the  in 
terpreter  explaining  as  Clarke  proceeded. 

"That's  right,"  the  aged  priest  remarked.  "We 
make  light  and  heat  from  water.  The  idea  is  an  old 
one.  Two  centuries  ago  an  American  claimed  to 
have  made  cheap  gas  from  water.  It  was  evidently 

106 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

a  failure,  as,  after  that,  nothing  more  was  heard  of 
the  alleged  discovery.  Our  process  is  comparative 
ly  inexpensive.  Look !" 

He  turned  a  gate  in  the  trough,  carrying  the  tiny 
stream  of  water,  diverting  the  liquid  from  the  over 
flow  to  the  funnel.  He  quickly  turned  half  a  dozen 
valves,  and  asked  for  a  match.  Lighting  one,  a 
clear  white  light  of  great  brilliancy  sprang  from 
a  tip,  standing  upright  from  an  inch  metal  pipe 
that  came  from  the  middle  of  the  cylinder. 

"Watch  it!"  the  priest  admonished.  Slowly 
turning  a  wheel  valve,  he  caused  the  flame  to 
change  from  perfect  incandescence  to  a  blue  light  of 
great  heat,  the  latter  for  fuel.  We  stood  and  looked 
in  open  mouthed  wonder.  Here  was  a  Brahmin, 
living  in  a  mountain  fastness,  who  had  made  a 
marvelous  discovery,  and  who  was  evidently,  from 
what  he  had  already  said,  closely  acquainted  with 
what  was  happening  in  the  great  world  outside. 
From  rush  light  and  pine  knot  to  this!  What  se 
crets  the  world  had  yielded  up,  and  yet  it  was  still 
full  of  them.  At  this  time,  owing  to  the  large  in 
crease  in  the  world's  population,  the  exhaustion  of 
most  of  the  coal  mines,  and  the  scarcity  of  timber, 
the  fuel  supply  question  had  taken  a  commanding 
position  in  the  international  forum. 

"Father  Krishna,"  I  ventured,  "you  have  certain 
ly  made  a  wonderful  discovery,  and  the  world 
owes  you  a  great  debt." 

"Our  light,"  he  answered,  "belongs  to  the  whole 
world.  If  it  is  of  great  value,  as  it  seems  to  be, 

107 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

it  will  prove  a  great  blessing.    I  hope  so." 

The  newspaper  correspondents  were  worried. 
There  was  no  aerograph  station  within  300  miles, 
and  yet  here  was  news  that  ought  to  be  on  the  way 
across  the  ocean.  Raper  suddenly  disappeared. 
Later,  we  learned  that  he  had  discovered  there  was 
a  telegraph  office  in  the  town.  He  hurried  back, 
with  the  other  correspondents  a  half  mile  in  the 
rear.  Raper  got  into  the  office  out  of  breath,  and 
began  to  grind  out  copy  with  an  improved  Faber, 
as  if  future  happiness  depended  on  his  speed.  Fin 
ishing  his  despatch,  he  clipped  an  article  a  column 
long  from  a  Bombay  paper  six  months  old,  and 
had  the  operator  continue  this  as  a  part  of  his 
message,  doing  it  to  hold  the  wire.  That  is  the  way 
Raper  scored  the  greatest  scoop  in  his  entire  career. 

My  opportunity  to  talk  to  Father  Krishna  at 
length  came  when  we  sat  down  under  a  grape  ar 
bor,  while  the  others  of  the  party  either  rested  or 
strolled  about,  they  having  been  given  the  freedom 
of  the  place. 

'"Father,"  I  began,  through  the  interpreter  whom 
I  had  called,  "out  in  our  world  you  priests  have, 
for  centuries,  had  the  reputation  of  possessing  se 
crets  in  reference  to  the  occult  that  are  not  known 
to  ordinary  mortals.  I  can  reaHily  believe  this, 
knowing  full  well  that  specialization  in  any  direc 
tion  leads  to  surprising  results.  What  can  you 
tell  me?" 

"Son,"  he  answered,  "there  are  some  things  I  can 
tell  you,  and  some  I  cannot,  unless  you  become  one 

108 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

of  us,  which  would  mean  a  probationary  period  of 
nine  years,  during  which  time,  you  would  be  sub 
jected  to  numerous  ordeals  as  tests  for  your  fit 
ness  for  our  work.  It  is  true  that  we  have  learned 
many  secrets,  psychological  and  otherwise,  that  are 
not  known  to  the  outside  world.  They  have  been 
handed  down  from  one  generation  of  priests  to 
another.  The  world  is  one  of  mysteries.  Year  af 
ter  year  these  mysteries  grow  fewer.  The  world 
is  already  discovering  some  of  the  things  known  to 
us  for  lo!  these  many  centuries.  The  misty  past 
is  a  graveyard  of  valuable  secrets.  If  the  great 
Alexandrian  Library  had  not  been  burned  down, 
most  of  them  would  have  been  carried  down  to  a 
curious  posterity.  The  world  is  now  investigating 
our  theory  of  reincarnation,  based  on  the  simple 
truth  that  matter  is  indestructible,  and  that  recur 
rence  is  the  unalterable  rule." 

"Reincarnation?"  I  gasped,  "that  is  what  I  want 
to  know  about.  One  of  my  ancestors,  who  for 
merly  lived  in  this  country,  was  a  believer  in  it, 
and  left  me  a  legacy  in  the  shape  of  a  written  ac 
count  of  his  experiences." 

"You  want  to  know  about?  Well,  then,  come 
around  tomorrow,  say  at  9  o'clock."  The  hour 
suited  me  exactly  and  I  was  feverish  with  expec 
tancy. 


109 


CHAPTER  XV. 
BACK  Six  GENERATIONS. 

They  that  on  glorious  ancestors  enlarge, 
Produce    their   debt    instead    of   their    discharge. 

— Young. 

When  I  appeared  at  the  monastery  the  next 
morning  at  the  appointed  hour,  it  was  with  a  well 
defined  idea  as  to  how  the  interior  of  the  somewhat 
imposing  stone  structure  would  appear.  It  seems 
that,  as  a  rule,  tiger  skins  and  Himalayan  build 
ings  are  unavoidably  associated  together.  When  I 
was  ushered  into  the  office  or  reception  room,  there 
was  no  tiger  skin;  neither  were  there  any  costly 
vases,  fine  bric-a-brac,  expensive  pieces  of  ivory,  or 
rare  works  of  art.  Instead,  extreme  simplicity 
ruled.  The  chairs  were  plain,  but  comfortable. 
There  was  a  rug  on  the  floor,  and  in  one  corner  a 
desk  that  shared  the  austerity  of  the  other  furnish 
ings  of  the  room.  On  a  shelf  was  a  statuette  of 
Brahma.  The  walls  were  rough  plastered  and  bare, 
save  for  three  prints.  Rows  of  low  shelves  were 
filled  with  books,  mostly,  I  judged,  of  a  religious 
character. 

A  bikshu  (a  priest)  came  in  and  bowed  low, 
making  gestures,  indicating  that  I  was  welcome, 

no 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

and  pointing  to  a  chair  to  be  seated.  He  had  a 
lean,  sallow  face,  and  looked  as  if  he  never  smiled. 
His  figure  was  enveloped  from  neck  to  feet  in  a 
gray  cassock,  held  at  the  middle  with  a  girdle.  The 
striking  thing  about  the  priest  was  his  high  fore 
head  and  intellectual  face.  He  sat  down,  evident 
ly,  waiting  for  Father  Krishna.  After  eyeing  me 
critically,  as  if  analyzing  the  powers  of  my  facul 
ties,  he  fell  into  a  fit  of  abstraction,  and  did  not 
again  notice  me.  His  thoughts  were  evidently  far 
away. 

A  few  minutes  later,  Father  Krishna,  accom 
panied  by  the  interpreter  of  the  day  before,  came 
in,  smiled  and  shook  hands  with  me.  The  infor 
mation,  given  him  by  Father  Gladstone,  that  I  was 
one  of  the  youngest  of  the  leaders  of  the  Brother 
hood  movement,  had  undoubtedly  impressed  him,. 
(I  say  this  without  intending  to  appear  egotistical). 
He  inquired  after  my  health,  and  then  asked  if  I 
were  ready  to  learn  of  the  transmigration  of  souls. 
Assuring  him  that  I  was,  he  pointed  to  a  door  lead 
ing  to  the  rear.  In  the  adjoining  room  was  a  flight 
of  stone  steps  that  led  to  a  long  hall,  lined  on  either 
side  by  a  row  of  monks'  cells.  Some  of  them  were 
occupied.  Curiously,  it  appeared  to  me,  not  one 
of  the  monks  looked  up,  or  gave  us  the  slightest 
notice.  Father  Krishna  led  me  to  a  cell  in  the 
far  end  of  the  hall.  Bidding  me  enter,  he  and  the 
interpreter  followed.  Talking  in  a  low,  musical 
voice,  he  began: 

"Looking  backward  is  for  us  easier  than  looking 

in 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

forward.  Your  people,  especially  those  that  keep 
in  close  touch  with  current  events,  can  easily  read 
at  least  a  part  of  the  future.  Things  that  are  mys 
teries  to  the  untutored  are  as  plain  as  day  to  the 
learned.  I  have  read  that  centuries  ago  Indians  of 
your  Mississippi  region  looked  on  a  certain  man 
as  possessing  supernatural  powers  because  his  dec 
laration  that  on  a  certain  day  the  Heavens  would 
grow  dark  at  noon  and  the  sun  would  be  hidden 
from  view,  came  true  to  the  minute.  That  man 
knew  by  superior  knowledge  of  a  coming  eclipse. 
He  was  held  in  such  awe  that  if  he  had  desired 
it  he  could  have  become  the  absolute  ruler  of 
those  red  men.  The  human  mind  as  well  as  the  hu 
man  body  is  capable  of  extraordinary  development 
in  any  direction.  This  is  illustrated  by  specializa 
tion  in  the  world's  schools.  We  bikshus  are  spe 
cialists.  We  have  for  centuries  past  trained  our 
minds  in  certain  directions.  It  is  no  longer  difficult 
for  us  to  look  backward,  and  through  the  memory 
of  former  lives,  read  the  history  of  the  past. 
You  are  likely  to  fail  in  your  first  attempts.  Com 
plete  loss  to  the  world  is  necessary.  You  must  se 
clude  yourself  in  this  cell,  close  your  eyes  and  sit 
and  think  of  a  former  existence — that  only,  and 
nothing  more.  If  you  have  success,  your  former 
life  will  appear  to  you  very  faintly.  After  repeated 
trials  it  will,  with  each  attempt,  grow  clearer." 

I  thanked  him  and  he  left  me  alone.    Just  for  a 
moment  I  would  look  around  and  take  note  of  my 
companions,  not  one  of  whom  had  deigned  to  no 
us 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

> 

tice  me.  What  an  odd  lot!  What  a  life  to  lead, 
shut  up  here  away  from  civilization,  sitting  for 
hours  apparently  half  asleep,  turning  prayer  wheels 
and  living  an  existence  almost  primitive.  I  cer 
tainly  was  not  in  a  religious  mood.  Why  could  I 
not  concentrate  my  mind  on  my  past  existence? 
Who  had  I  been  before  I  was  ushered  into  this 
world  as  Robert  Young?  I  closed  my  eyes  tightly, 
gritted  my  teeth  and  resolved  to  find  out.  The 
hall  was  warm  and  close,  and  great  beads  of  sweat 
stood  out  on  my  forehead.  I  would  not  confess 
failure.  If  these  monks,  living  up  here  in  the  moun 
tains  away  from  the  activities  and  progress  of  the 
world,  could  see  into  the  past,  so  could  I,  too.  I 
closed  my  eyes  more  tightly  and  pressed  on  the  lids 
with  my  finger  tips.  Pictures  ?  Yes,  rolls  of  changing 
colors  with  yellow  and  streaks  of  black  dominant. 
Then  came  fantastic  figures  and  miles  of  what 
looked  like  wall  paper.  The  past?  When  woald 
it  come  ?  What  one  man  could  do  another  ought  to 
be  able  to  do.  I  yawned.  Good  gracious !  I  was 
growing  drowsy.  Was  that  one  of  the  symptoms? 
I  changed  my  fingers  from  my  eyes  to  my  ears  and 
shut  out  all  sound.  I  would  be  dead  to  my  envi 
ronment.  Ha!  What  was  that?  I  opened  my 
eyes  and  looked.  Nothing  more  than  one  of  the 
monks  leaving  his  cell,  where  he  had  been  for 
hours.  What  had  Alice  meant  when  she  said  that 
she  would  give  me  her  answer  in  Peking?  What 
bearing  on  our  affairs  had  these  mystics?  Here 
I  was  ruminating  over  an  outside  matter.  Why 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

didn't  I  stick  to  my  task?  It  was  easy  for  the 
monks.  How  hard  my  chair  had  become!  Was 
ever  a  more  uncomfortable  one  made?  Why  not 
lie  down  ?  There  was  a  bunk  at  my  side.  I  did  so. 
again  closed  my  eyes  tightly  and  resolved  to  allow 
no  stray  thought  to  interfere  with  my  experiment. 
Then  came  a  succession  of  prismatic  colors,  danc 
ing  in  fantastic  shapes  before  me.  Small  at  first, 
and  varied  in  character,  they  gradually  grew  larger 
until  they  merged  into  the  figure  of  a  man.  Faint 
lines  gave  way  to  sharp  ones;  the  pale  face  took 
on  life  and  color,  and  I  fancied  I  could  see  the 
blood  coursing  through  the  veins  and  arteries.  Yes, 
there  was  pulsation  on  the  forehead.  Eureka !  I 
had  succeeded.  It  was  I  in  the  preceding  genera 
tion.  The  figure  was  tall,  clean  shaven  and  cleri 
cal  in  appearance.  The  voice  was  that  of  an  ora 
tor.  The  figure  had  a  commanding  air,  and  had 
evidently  been  a  leader.  Then  it  all  became  plain. 
I  had  been  a  missionary  and  had  done  yeoman  work 
in  bringing  a  part  of  the  effete  East  to  the  Brother 
hood  way  of  thinking.  In  Newport,  the  scenes  of 
aristocratic  triumphs,  the  dogs  had  been  sicked  on 
me.  In  Fifth  Avenue  I  had  been  pointed  out  as  a 
crazy  man.  On  the  East  Side  of  New  York  I  had 
been  given  an  ovation.  Later,  what  a  triumph  for 
me,  when  Brotherhood  swept  that  section  of  the 
country,  carrying  everything  before  it.  So,  suc 
cessful,  I  went  back  farther  and  farther.  Here  is 
the  result: 

Second     generation. — Leading     crowd     through 

114 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

streets,  crying  for  actual  instead  of  theoretical 
equality.  Hissed,  stoned,  called  Socialist  and 
dubbed  Anarchist.  Arrested  and  sent  to  prison, 
later  to  insane  asylum,  from  where  I  was  released 
and  pronounced  as  sane  as  any  human  being.  De 
nounced  child  labor,  graft,  sweat-shop  system,  mo 
nopoly  and  the  purchase  of  the  people's  govern 
ment  by  the  trust  magnates.  Arrested  in  the  Na 
tional  Capital  in  an  effort  to  see  the  President,  and 
dragged  off  to  prison.  Freed,  grew  ill  and  died,  still 
hoping  for  reform  of  existing  evils. 

Third  Generation. — Fat,  sleek,  prosperous  look 
ing  individual,  wearing  an  air  of  evident  superior 
ity.  Pompous,  arrogant  and  dictatorial.  Indif 
ferent  to  rights  of  others.  Had  big  bank  account, 
and  was  constantly  adding  to  it.  Stole  a  poor  devil's 
patent,  made  a  fortune,  and  finally,  one  day  when 
he  came  to  my  office,  begging  for  bread,  gave  him 
$10  and  ordered  him  not  to  bother  me  any  more ; 
became  a  speculator,  cornered  the  egg  market,  and 
jumped  eggs  one  winter  from  10  cents  to  30  cents 
per  dozen,  all  at  the  expense  of  my  fellow  citizens. 
People  called  me  great,  and  the  newspapers  printed 
my  picture.  Grew  ambitious  as  a  speculator,  and 
cornered  wheat,  running  the  price  in  three  months 
from  60  cents  to  $i  per  bushel.  Profits  $9,000,000. 
Price  of  bread  was  advanced,  and  there  were  bread 
riots  in  the  larger  cities.  Became  known  all  over 
the  world  as  Barton,  the  wheat  king.  Knocked  off 
work  and  went  abroad  on  private  }racht.  After 
spending  three  years  seeing  the  world,  and  marry- 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

ing  my  daughters  to  dukes  and  earls,  returned  to 
my  native  land  and  bought  a  seat  in  the  United 
States  Senate.  Died  from  apoplexy,  following 
burst  of  passion  in  endeavor  to  get  an  appropria 
tion  for  line  of  ships  I  had  become  interested  in. 

Fourth  Generation. — Born  poor,  got  common 
school  education,  started  country  store,  prospered, 
took  interest  in  new  railroad,  obtained  control  of 
it,  reorganized  company,  watered  stock,  boosted  it 
on  stories  of  extensions  and  consolidation  with 
trunk  line,  and  sold  out  at  a  profit  of  $2,000,000. 
Stock,  three  months  later,  fell  from  115  to  53.  The 
suckers  held  the  bag.  Did  the  same  thing  over  and 
over  again,  and  became  one  of  the  kings  of  Wall 
Street,  with  an  unsurpassed  knowledge  of  frenzied 
finance.  Built  a  hospital,  founded  a  college  and  died 
a  "good  old  man." 

Fifth  Generation. — Bunko  steerer  in  New  York, 
having  come  from  the  slums.  Kept  on  good  terms 
with  the  police.  Made  many  acquaintances,  and 
eventually  became  a  political  power.  Dropped 
working  the  "guys"  from  the  country,  became  one 
of  the  "Boss"  lieutenants  and  took  to  collecting 
graft  from  the  saloonists,  and  others  who  profited 
by  violating  the  law.  It  was  dead  easy.  When 
anyone  kicked  he  got  "pinched."  Moved  into  a  bet 
ter  neighborhood  and  built  a  fine  house.  "Boss" 
died,  and  I  succeeded  to  his  shoes,  worked  the  graft 
game  and  made  all  wanting  offices  come  to  me. 
Soon  had  a  million  dollars  in  my  pockets,  which  I 
got  mostly  from  the  sale  of  franchises.  Became  a 

116 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

bank  president,  and  the  head  of  a  railroad.  The 
newspapers  tacked  "Hon."  on  to  my  name,  and  I 
became  "it."  Had  a  large  funeral  and  got  a  big 
tombstone. 

Sixth  Generation. — Was  a  good  fellow.  Became 
an  office  holder,  starting  with  the  place  of  con 
stable.  Finally  landed  in  the  Mayor's  chair.  Soon 
found  out  the  place  was  rich  in  "velvet."  Corpor 
ations,  wanting  franchises,  had  a  courteous  way 
of  making  loans  that  were  never  to  be  repaid.  The 
vulgar  would  have  called  it  bribe-taking,  but  in 
my  day  it  was  statesmanship.  Became  the  local 
"boss,"  kept  the  corporations  in  line  for  annual 
or  semi-annual  contributions ;  had  all  kinds  of  rail 
road  passes,  and  died  one  of  "our  best  and  most 
respected  citizens." 

Number  seven  was  beginning  to  appear  vaguely, 
when  I  felt  my  arm  were  in  a  vise,  and  awoke  with  a 
start.  Raper  had  hold  of  me  and  was  shaking  me. 
"Dreaming  again?"  he  asked.  Getting  back  into 
the  world  so  suddenly  was  a  queer  experience.  Had 
I  been  dreaming,  or  had  I  penetrated  into  the 
realms  of  the  occult? 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


LOST  CITY  FOUND. 


As  though  an  earthquake  smacked  its  mumbling  lips, 
O'er  some  thick-peopled  city. 

— Bailey's  Festus. 


Our  route  homeward  took  us  over  Northern  In 
dia,  Afghanistan,  Persia  and  Arabia.  Practically 
the  entire  population  of  Kunchinjinga  turned  out 
for  our  departure.  Our  visit  had  been  a  memorable 
one  in  the  annals  of  the  town.  Father  Krishna 
gave  his  personal  attention  to  the  collection  of  food 
and  pure  water  for  us.  There  was  a  careful  in 
spection  of  each  airship,  a  reckoning  of  our  exact 
latitude  and  longitude,  and  a  comparison  of  our  lo 
cation  with  that  of  Cairo.  From  the  calculations 
made,  each  projectile  pointed  in  the  direction  of  the 
Egyptian  capital.  Inasmuch  as  Kunchinjinga  had 
no  projectile  station,  we  were  obliged  to  use  emerg 
ency  tubes  again  for  the  start.  Each  projectile 
was  equipped  with  one  of  these,  which  had  to  be 
anchored  firmly  in  the  ground  and  left  behind. 

Father  Krishna,  in  bidding  us  good  bye,  pre 
sented  Father  Gladstone  a  diagram  of  the  light- 
making  machine,  with  a  full  explanation  in  English 
of  how  the  chemical  changes,  necessary  to  convert 

118 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

water,  otherwise  oxygen  and  hydrogen,  into  light 
and  heat,  were  brought  about.  Father  Gladstone 
exacted  a  promise  from  the  Brahmin  leader  to  vis 
it  him  at  Fratersurb.  Our  trip  to  Cairo  was  un 
eventful,  except  for  the  glimpses  we  had  of  strange 
Oriental  cities,  including  Lahore,  Cabool,  Teheran, 
Bagdad,  Damascus  and  Jerusalem.  Pity  it  was  we 
did  not  have  time  to  drop  down  on  each  one  of 
them,  especially  on  Jerusalem  and  Bagdad,  rich  re 
spectively  in  material  relating  to  the  lowly  Nazar- 
ene,  the  real  founder  of  the  Brotherhod  of  Man, 
and  to  Caliph  Haroun  el  Raschid,  the  Just,  in  a 
mild  way  an  exponent  of  the  Brotherhood  idea. 

The  first  view  of  Cairo  was  one  of  exceeding 
beauty.  Dominating  the  landscape  were  the  many 
mosques  and  minarets,  most  of  them  of  great 
height,  and  built  largely  of  alternate  layers  of  red 
and  white  stone  We  descended  near  the  celebra 
ted  mosque,  the  Sultan  Tayloon,  and  made  our  way 
to  the  gay  International  Hotel,  where  at  the  time 
representatives  of  nearly  every  race  on  the  globe 
were  to  be  found.  To  our  surprise,  we  learned  that 
there  had  been  great  seismic  disturbances  in  the 
Northern  Atlantic  Ocean.  There  had  been  earth 
quakes  on  both  the  Eastern  and  Western  shores  of 
that  great  sheet  of  water.  The  centre  of  disturb 
ance,  which  seemed  to  radiate  in  elliptical  lines, 
appeared,  it  was  explained,  to  be  somewhere  out  in 
the  middle  of  the  ocean,  no  one  knew  exactly 
where.  Anxious  to  learn  all  of  the  particulars,  we 
hurried  our  departure,  deciding  on  Lisbon,  Portu- 

119 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

gal,  where  there  was  a  projectile  station,  as  our 
next  stop.  The  Portuguese  capital,  which  we 
reached  in  about  nine  minutes  after  we  had  left 
Cairo,  was  in  a  great  commotion.  The  city  had 
been  severely  shaken  for  five  seconds,  and  many  of 
the  lighter  and  weaker  buildings  were  in  ruins. 
There  had  been  a  great  upheaval  of  land  some 
where  east  of  the  Canaries.  Our  newspaper  con 
tingent  was  wild  with  excitement.  They  hurried 
here  and  there,  eager  for  definite  information. 

After  a  rest  of  two  hours  in  Lisbon  that  was  no 
rest  at  all,  we  put  to  sea ;  that  is,  out  over  the  sea, 
steering  for  Teneriffe,  the  largest  of  the  Canaries. 
Dashing  over  Teneriffe,  and  a  strait,  probably 
twenty-five  miles  wide,  we  came  to  a  stretch  of 
land,  reaching  away  farther  than  the  eye  could  see, 
that  had  taken  the  place  of  the  former  unbroken 
expanse  of  blue.  Onward  we  sailed  for  probably 
six  hundred  miles,  when  the  ocean  again  came  in 
view.  The  appearance  on  the  shore  of  a  city, 
covered  with  heavy  marine  vegetation,  prompted 
Father  Gladstone  to  speak  hurriedly  to  Master 
Sykes,  who  without  a  moment's  delay,  turned  his 
rudder,  opened  up  the  brake  and  threw  out  the 
minite  wings.  We  were  now  describing  a  huge  cir 
cle.  Five  minutes  of  this,  during  which  time  our 
speed  was  slowly  reduced,  and  we  began  to  drop  to 
the  ground.  In  that  time  we  had  an  opportunity  to 
study  the  nature-exhumed  metropolis,  for  metropo 
lis  it  evidently  had  been.  Towering  above  every 
thing  else  were  two  huge  pyramids,  which,  I  later 

1 20 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

ascertained,  were  1500  feet  square  at  the  base  and 
623  feet  high.  We  discovered  that  the  four  sides 
were  set  in  exact  lines  with  the  four  cardinal  points. 
The  apex  of  one  had  tumbled  over,  and  the  side  of 
the  other  was  convex  for  a  space  50  feet  square. 
The  buildings  were  in  ruins,  but  still  well  enough 
preserved  to  give  an  index  to  their  pristine  splen 
dor.  When  we  reached  the  ground,  there  was  a 
rush,  even  among  the  elders  of  our  party,  to  get 
out.  Naturally  Father  Gladstone  was  given  pre 
cedence.  Our  landing  place  was  an  ancient  plaza, 
bounded  by  huge  buildings,  one  with  a  peristyle  of 
broken  columns.  The  buildings  were  built  of  huge 
blocks  of  granite  and  were  apparently  Egyptian  in 
design  and  character. 

"Look,"  exclaimed  Sykes,  as  he  retreated  from 
an  object  lying  on  the  ground  near  a  broken  col 
umn.  We  all  approached  timorously,  I  must  ad 
mit,  for  his  evident  fear  and  horror  had  proved 
contagious.  The  object,  once  a  human  being,  was 
lying  with  face  upturned,  and  with  body  clothed 
in  garments  of  thousands  of  years  ago.  The  head 
dress,  the  sack  or  coat,  and  the  trousers,  were  all 
ancient  Egyptian  in  pattern. 

"Here,  Raper,"  I  exclaimed,  "come  quick." 

The  newspaper  men,  who  had  noticed  our  change 
in  direction  in  time  to  follow,  had  come  down  a 
short  time  after  we  had. 

Raper  was  an  Egyptologist.  He  hurried  to  my 
side,  looked  a  moment,  went  closer  to  the  re 
cumbent  figure  and  exclaimed,  "Great  Cleopatra,  it 

121 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

is  petrified!"  We  looked  again  and  his  claim  was 
evident  to  all.  The  body  was  as  hard  as  if  it  had 
been  chiseled  out  of  solid  rock.  We  started  out  to 
gether  as  a  searching  party.  We  had  not  gone  far 
until  we  discovered  that  the  dead  city  was  filled 
with  thousands  of  bodies  of  petrified  human  beings. 

Our  investigations  finally  led  us  into  the  interior 
of  the  most  stable  looking  building  on  the  plaza. 
The  huge  arch,  marking  the  entrance,  was  still  in 
tact,  and  but  slightly  out  of  shape.  Wide  stairs 
of  discolored  marble  led  to  a  vestibule  from  which , 
there  opened  an  immense  hall,  about  400  feet  long 
The  roof  on  one  side  had  caved  in.  The  columns, 
holding  the  other  side,  while  out  of  plumb,  had  not 
given  away.  That  part  of  the  building  stood  about 
as  it  had  an  age  ago.  Sitting  and  recumbent  fig 
ures,  looking  as  if  they  had  been  chiseled  out  of 
stone,  were  all  about.  Some  occupied  chairs  of 
ancient  style.  All  had  blocks  of  what  appeared  to 
be  baked  clay  in  their  hands.  These  blocks  were 
thin  and  glazed  and  were  covered  with  small  char 
acters,  resembling  hieroglyphics,  but  certainly  not 
hieroglyphics.  Raper  picked  up  one,  studied  it  in 
tently  a  minute,  and  then  broke  out:  'This  was 
their  library.  The  evidence  is  unmistakable.  The 
writing — what  is  it?" 

He  remained  in  a  brown  study  for  several  min 
utes,  examining  intently,  one  after  another  of  the 
tablets,  and  then  resumed,  at  first  doubtfully:  "It 
is  Chaldaic,  no  Egyptian.  By  George!  That  is 
not  right,  although  there  is  a  similarity.  Perhaps  it 

122 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

is  Coptic.  No.  I  have  it.  It  is  Phoenician.  Yes, 
that's  what  it  is,  or  something  very  much  like  it." 

We  spent  two  days  in  going  over  these  remarka 
ble  ruins,  making  new  discoveries  at  every  turn. 
The  city  must  have  claimed  close  to  a  million  in 
habitants.  What  was  it,  and  what  was  its  history? 
Who  could  tell  about  this  Pompeii  of  prehistoric 
times?  It  was  a  time  of  unanswered  interroga 
tions  ? 

Spending  all  the  time  we  dared  in  investigating, 
Clarke  suddenly  proposed  that  we  start  at  once  for 
New- York.  No  one  had  thought  of  our  dilemma 
until  now.  We  had  no  more  emergency  cylinders, 
could  not  start  our  projectiles,  were  2800  miles 
from  our  own  continent,  and  were  marooned  on  a 
new  continent,  or  island,  in  a  city  of  the  dead. 

The  party  of  newspaper  men  was  chafing  at  the 
unavoidable  delay,  as  each  had  a  story  worth  the 
entire  first  page  of  any  newspaper  and  yet  was  un 
able  to  get  it  off.  What  a  plight ! 

Raper,  who  had  found  the  library  a  source  of 
great  interest,  went  back  to  that  structure.  At  his 
request  I  accompanied  him.  He  had  resolved  to 
take  some  of  the  tablets  home  with  him  and  de 
cipher  them  at  his  leisure.  He  looked  around  for 
nearly  an  hour  before  he  found  what  he  wanted. 
At  last  he  selected  a  "volume,"  consisting  of  tab 
lets  strung  on  slender  chains,  which  he  decided 
were  of  silver.  The  "volume"  closed,  was  a  foot 
thick,  but  light  for  the  bulk. 

A  book  might  be  written  about  the  experiences  we 

123 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

had  in  that  city,  which,  it  was  evident  had  been  a 
place  of  culture  and  advancement  in  many  of  the 
arts.  There  were  here  and  there  groups  of  statu 
ary  that  Praxiteles  himself  would  have  been 
proud  of.  How  were  we  to  get  away?  That  was 
the  perplexing  question. 

"I  have  it,"  said  Sykes,  and  we  all  closed  in  to 
listen. 


124 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
AN  EXPERIMENT. 

In  the  vast,  and  the  minute,  we  see 
The  unambitious  footsteps  of  the  God 
Who  gives  its  lustre  to  an  insect's  wing 
And  wheels  his  throne  upon  the  rolling  worlds. 

— Cowper's  Task. 

Master  Sykes'  plan  was  to  improvise  an  aero 
graph  station.  It  would  be  easy,  he  contended,  to 
fly  a  kite  to  the  height  of  400  or  500  feet  and  use 
it  in  lieu  of  a  mast. 

"How  can  we  make  a  recording  instrument?" 
was  Wallace's  timely  question. 

"We  can  make  it,"  Sykes  answered,  "but  it  will 
take  time — two  weeks  I  should  say,  with  good 
luck." 

"What !"  Raper  ejaculated,  "remain  here  for  two 
weeks  without  communication  with  the  world? 
There  ought  to  be  a  quicker  way." 

"There  is,"  Clarke  declared,  "provided  Prof. 
Harry  Rabbitts,  of  Columbia,  has  not  torn  his  study 
to  pieces.  You  remember,  Raper,  when  we  were  at 
Columbia  commencement  last  year,  you  tripped  on 
a  wire  running  over  the  floor  of  the  Professor's 
study,  and  he  apologized,  explaining  that  he  had 

125 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

not  removed  it,  because  it  had  been  put  in  by  his 
predecessor.  You  recall,  he  said,  that  it  was  a  part 
of  the  deep  sea  apparatus  for  communicating  under 
water.  It  is  a  relic  of  the  past,  the  success  of  the 
aeograph  having  made  it  superfluous.  Now,  if  I 
remember  correctly,  the  receiving  and  sending 
board  of  that  discarded  system  is  located  in  Long 
Island  Sound,  about  25  miles  from  the  University. 
That  board  and  Prof.  Rabbitts'  study  are  connect 
ed  by  wire.  The  old  Morse  code  was  used.  Now, 
if  that  apparatus  is  still  intact,  and  I  have  every 
reason  to  believe  that  it  is,  we  can  make  a  crude 
telegraph  instrument  of  sufficient  size,  sink  it  500 
feet  or  so,  animate  it  with  electricity,  and  at  least 
try  to  communicate  with  the  professor,  who  knows 
the  Morse  code,  he  having  dwelt  upon  its  part  in 
civilization  in  a  lecture  he  delivered  to  one  of  his 
classes  while  I  was  at  the  University." 

"But  who  is  there  here  that  understands  the 
Morse  code?"  I  asked. 

Silas  Engle,  who  I  assume  was  the  oldest  mem 
ber  of  the  party,  spoke  up  and  said :  "I  believe  with 
a  little  reflection  and  study  I  could  send  and  re 
ceive.  I  knew  the  code  when  a  boy." 

"All  right,"  Clarke  said,  "let's  get    to  work." 

The  Morse  instruments  were  made  and  remade, 
finally  to  the  satisfaction  of  Brother  Engle.  He 
spent  his  time  penciling  dots  and  dashes  on  scraps 
of  paper.  The  result  of  the  experiment  was  in 
volved  in  great  doubt,  and,  to  add  to  the  gravity 
of  the  situation,  the  chances  were  Prof.  Rabbitts 

126         « 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

might  not  be  in  his  study.  After  24  hours'  unceas 
ing  work,  it  was  announced  that  everything  was  in 
readiness  for  the  trial.  We  figured  that  the  pro 
fessor  would  probably  be  in  his  study  at  8  P.  M. 
To  get  him  at  that  hour  it  would  be  necessary  for 
us  to  begin  our  trial  at  i  A.  M.,  our  time.  There 
was  a  cliff  at  the  southern  edge  of  the  old  city 
which  we  chose  as  the  scene  of  our  momentous  test. 
By  using  a  plummet  we  found  there  was  at  this 
point  a  sheer  drop  from  surface  to  the  bottom  of 
the  ocean  of  524  feet.  Our  boards,  made  as  sen 
sitive  as  the  material  on  hand  permitted,  were  sunk 
to  the  sea's  rocky  floor,  the  instruments  fastened  to 
a  rough  table  on  top  of  the  cliff  and  i  o'clock 
awaited  for  the  experiment. 

Silas  Engle  sat  down  and  thumped  away  minute 
after  minute,  framing,  in  dots  and  dashes,  such 
sentences  as  "Hear  us,"  "Listen,  Professor  Rab- 
bitts,"  and  "Friends  in  trouble."  After  each  short 
message  he  stopped  and  waited  for  a  reply.  None 
came,  much  to  our  disappointment.  We  finally  de 
cided  to  give  up  the  attempt  until  the  next  morning 
and  were  on  the  point  of  returning  to  our  camp  to 
get  much  needed  sleep,  when  Raper  suggested  that 
we  try  again,  just  once  for  luck.  Brother  Engle 
consented  reluctantly.  "Help!  help!"  he  tele 
graphed,  repeating  the  one  word  about  30  times. 
He  paused  and  waited  for  an  answer  which,  he 
was  frank  to  say,  he  did  not  expect.  He  thought 
the  apparatus  was  not  powerful  enough  and  then 
might  be  defective.  What  was  that?  There  was 

127 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

an  answering  click.  Faint  as  it  was,  it  was  the 
sweetest  music  our  party  had  heard  in  years.  The 
operator  slowly  and  with  difficulty  wrote  out  the 
answer,  which  was  "Who  are  you,  where  are  you 
and  what  do  you  want  ?" 

The  following  was  sent  back:  "Father  Glad 
stone's  party  is  marooned  on  a  new  continent, 
thrown  up  by  earthquake,  just  east  of  the 
Canaries.  Latitude  29:30  North;  longitude  31 
West.  Send  help." 

There  was  an  answer,  but  it  was  undecipherable. 
The  click  of  the  instrument  was  decidedly  faint, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  the  voltage  had  been  in 
creased. 

It  was  shortly  after  daybreak  that  morning  that 
swarms  of  projectiles  began  arriving  from  all  over 
the  civilized  world.  The  advance  guard  contained 
newspaper  men  and  scientists,  many  from  Europe, 
the  visit  of  the  Europeans  being  entirely  inde 
pendent  of  that  of  the  Americans.  Those  coming 
later  were  sightseers.  There  were  plenty  of  emer 
gency  tubes  and  we  could  now  as  soon  as  we 
pleased  resume  our  journey  homeward. 

The  city  was  a  treasure  trove  for  the  scientists, 
some  of  whom  were  specialists  in  archaeology, 
others  in  the  dead  languages  and  others  in  geology 
and  seismography.  All  told,  the  scientific  party 
numbered  105.  This  is  according  to  Raper's 
count.  Let  it  be  explained  here  that  the  newspaper 
men  had  not  been  idle.  With  the  aid  of  Master 
Sykes,  the  telegraph  station  was  improved  so  that 

128 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

each  was  able  to  get  a  message  to  the  other  side  of 
the  Atlantic.  In  that  way  the  American  news 
papers  obtained  the  news  of  the  creation  of  a  new 
continent  ahead  of  the  journals  of  Europe. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  scientists,  held  at  noon,  Prof. 
Chas.  G.  Heckert,  of  the  University  of  Berlin,  was 
elected  chairman,  and  Prof.  Carey  Boggess,  of  the 
University  of  Chicago,  secretary.  It  was  decided 
that  the  party  should  divide  into  groups  of  three, 
four  and  five,  spend  the  afternoon  in  examining 
the  ruins  and  meet  that  night  on  the  plaza  for  a 
comparison  of  notes.  We  resolved  to  remain  over 
until  after  the  meeting.  It  was  easy  to  spend  the 
remainder  of  the  afternoon  profitably  among  the 
ruins.  The  meeting  that  night  was  admittedly, 
from  a  scientific  and  historical  standpoint,  one  of 
the  greatest  in  the  history  of  the  world.  The  old 
est  scientist  present  was  Prof.  A.  F.  Linn,  of  Le- 
land  Stanford.  He  was  the  world's  acknowledged 
authority  on  seismography.  Because  of  his  seniority 
he  was  called  upon  first. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "this  thing  is  plain  to  me. 
The  upheaved  city  is  Atlantis,  described  so  graphi 
cally  by  Plato  and  Critias.  The  character  of  the 
buildings,  the  pyramids  and  the  dress  of  the  people 
prove  beyond  doubt,  it  seems  to  me,  this  claim. 
The  history  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  in  particular  is  full 
of  lost  and  upheaved  islands.  Examinations  of  an 
outcropping  of  rock  at  the  west  end  of  the  city 
lead  to  the  conviction  that  it  rests  on  a  great  mass 
of  solid  limestone.  When  something  underneath 

129 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

gave  way  and  the  continent  disappeared,  this  lime 
stone  base  remained  unbroken.  It  also  withstood 
the  shock  of  this  week's  upheaval.  Because  of  this 
the  city  is  well  preserved." 

This  opinion  was  concurred  in  by  all  of  those 
present.  The  ancient  library  was  the  scene  of  the 
greatest  interest  and  it  was  resolved  at  once  to  put 
to  work  every  available  man  in  deciphering  the 
tablets. 

In  the  party  was  Prof.  B.  Frank  Prince,  who  had 
made  a  specialty  of  Phoenician. 

He  was  especially  interested  in  the  volume 
picked  up  by  Raper.  After  giving  it  more  than 
cursory  attention,  he  turned  to  my  newspaper 
friend  and  remarked,  "Do  you  know  what  you  have 
here?" 

"No,"  answered  Raper,  "what  is  it?" 

"It  is  a  book  written  by  one  who  signs  himself 
Arna  Broana.  It  is  entitled  The  Secret  of  Life/ 
From  a  glance  at  it,  I  take  it  that  the  writer  as 
sumes  to  give  an  amplified  account  of  the  creation. 
He  claims  that  Atlantis  was  the  cradle  of  the 
human  race  and  that  it  had,  at  the  time  the  book 
was  written,  attained  a  high  degree  of  civilization. 
As  nearly  as  I  can  compute,  from  the  examination 
made,  the  book  was  written  an  age  ago.  Here 
are  some  odd  sentences  I  have  been  able  to  trans 
late: 

"  'Life  is  a  chemical  product/ 

"  'Life  had  its  origin  ages  ago  in  Nature's  giant 
laboratory/ 

130 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

"  The  first  living  things'  wants  grew  just  as 
man's  wants  today  are  growing,  and  thus  came 
evolution.' 

"  'Man,  like  the  earth,  is  a  product  of  millions 
of  years.' 

"  'Forms  of  life  have  varied  or  changed  according 
to  the  condition  of  the  Earth  chemically,  hence  the 
vast  difference  among  the  forms  of  life  represent 
ing  the  different  geological  ages.' 

"  'Demand  and  desire,  initially  weak  forces,  gave 
new  shapes  and  added  activity  to  various  forms  of 
animal  life.' 

"  'Environments,  from  the  standpoint  of  temper 
ature  and  topography,  were  responsible  for  the 
character  of  development  made.' 

"  'Finally  out  of  the  chaos  of  long  periods  of 
varying  proportions  of  oxygen,  nitrogen  and  car 
boniferous  acid  gas,  affecting  the  size,  character 
and  activity  of  animal  life,  came  primitive  man,  an 
evolution  of  other  animal  life,  at  first  a  shaggy, 
giant-limbed  creature  of  great  appetite,  strong  pas 
sions  and  small  intellect.' 

"  'New  sights,  new  sensations,  new  discoveries, 
in  the  avenues  of  love,  fear,  hate,  ambition,  joy  and 
sorrows  slowly,  century  by  century,  broadened  him.' 

"  'First  a  cave  dweller,  with  stones  and  clubs  for 
weapons,  he  slaughtered  by  stealth  and  strength. 
These  weapons  gave  way  to  bow  and  arrow, 
javelin,  cross  bow  and  spear.' 

"  'Little  by  little  discoveries  were  made  in  dif- 
ierent  channels,  each  having  a  broadening  effect, 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

until  our  present  high  civilization  was  reached,  as 
superior  to  that  of  two  thousand  years  ago  as  the 
civilization  of  that  time  was  to  a  similar  period  be 
fore  it* 

"  'Man  has  constantly  grown  in  intellect,  under 
standing,  power  and  utility.  This  progress  natural 
ly  suggests  the  query :  How  low  did  he  start  ?'  " 

While  Prof.  Prince  was  reading  this  the  entire 
party  stood  around  to  hear  these  scientific  declara 
tions  that  must  be  nearly  nine  thousand  years  old. 
After  a  moment's  silence,  Dr.  Philip  Schneider,  a 
theological  professor  from  Princeton,  suggested 
that  even  if  these  assertions  were  true,  he  did  not 
believe  they  in  any  way  conflicted  with  the  ac 
count  given  in  Genesis  of  Creation.  He  added: 
"It  has  been  many  years  since  practically  the  whole 
world  accepted  the  doctrine  that  the  world  was  not 
made  in  six  days  but  instead  in  six  ages,  the  word 
day  in  the  original  text  being  synoymous  with 
age.  So  with  the  creation  of  man.  It  would  be 
easy  to  contend,  and  prove,  for  that  matter,  that 
man's  creation  occurred  not  in  a  day  but  in  an  age. 
Granting  this  to  be  true,  it  is  easy  to  go  farther  and 
assume  that  man  was  an  evolution  of  the  first  ani 
mal  life,  in  reality  a  chemical  product.  The  more 
thought  I  give  to  this  matter  the  more  I  think  that 
there  is  no  real  conflict  between  the  Bible  and  the 
theory  of  evolution,  much  of  which  we  know  to  be 
true." 

This  started  a  discussion  that  lasted  until  after 
midnight,  revolving  about  the  claim  made  two  cen- 

132 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

turies  ago  by  Prof.  Wm.  Oswald  of  the  University 
of  Leipsic  and  Prof.  Joseph  Loeb,  of  the  University 
of  California,  that  it  was  possible  for  science  by 
slow  development  to  create  a  type  of  life  as  high 
as  that  of  the  domestic  animals.  Prof.  Prince  set 
Raper  wild  when  he  promised  him  as  soon  as  his 
time  would  permit  to  give  him  a  complete  trans 
lation  of  the  wonderful  volume. 


133 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
FROM  ANOTHER  WORLD. 

Pass  but  a  moment,  and  this  busy  globe, 
Its  thrones,  its  empires  and  its  bustling  millions 
Will  seem  a  speck  in  the  great  void  of  space. 

— Murphy's   Grecian   Daughter. 

As  we  neared  New  York  City,  on  our  return 
home,  the  heavens  were  ablaze  with  changing 
coruscations,  sometimes  taking  the  form  of  dots 
and  at  other  times  dashes.  These  dots  were  ac 
tually  half  a  mile  in  diameter,  while  the  dashes, 
rectangular  patches  of  light,  were  a  mile  long. 

"What  is  the  cause  of  activity  at  the  Inter-Plane 
tary  station  tonight?"  I  involuntarily  asked  myself. 

Having  secured  the  badly  needed  emergency 
tube,  we  had  gotten  away  in  early  dawn  from 
resurrected  Atlantis,  leaving  behind  a  large  number 
of  scientists,  bent  on  making  an  exhaustive  study 
of  the  ancient  city  from  every  point  of  view. 

We  reached  New  York  at  a  little  after  one  the 
same  morning,  the  seeming  anachronism  being  due 
to  the  difference  in  time  and  our  fast  trip. 

Half  of  New  York  was  out  doors,  the  flashes  in 
the  sky  vying  with  hundreds  of  restaurants,  cafes 
and  rathskellers  for  first  place  in  public  interest. 

Our   radium  headlight,   aglow   like  some  great 

134 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

fire  fly  in  the  air,  heralded  our  arrival.  Sykes 
resolved  to  come  down  at  the  Battery  where  one 
of  the  numerous  projectile  stations  was  located. 
Great  crowds  surrounded  us,  eager  for  new  in 
formation  about  our  journey.  Scores  of  newspaper 
men  and  artists,  representing  the  Herald  and  vari 
ous  other  publications  in  and  out  of  New  York, 
formed  the  first  ring  around  us.  Briefly  and  tersely 
Father  Gladstone  described  the  most  interesting 
features  of  our  journey,  concluding  with  an  ac 
count  of  our  experience  near  mid  Atlantic.  We 
had  already  had  our  night's  rest,  but  nevertheless 
went  to  the  Astor  where  we  were  assigned  rooms. 

The  Herald  next  morning  had  a  big  "story"  on 
our  trip  and  return,  together  with  latest  matter  that 
had  come  by  aerograph  from  Atlantis,  a  mast  for 
the  purpose  having,  with  characteristic  enterprise, 
been  erected  on  the  new  continent  within  a  few 
days.  There  were  several  advertisements  of  pro 
jectiles  about  to  leave,  carrying  parties  of  sight 
seers  to  the  world's  metropolis  of  an  age  before. 

The  article  in  the  Herald  that  interested  me  most 
was  an  account  of  the  inter-communication  between 
the  Earth  and  Mars,  which  had  been  the  first  thing 
to  attract  my  attention  on  nearing  the  city. 

It  was  still  too  early  to  call  up  Alice's  home  at 
Fratersurb  and  so  resignedly  I  settled  down  in  an 
easy  chair  in  the  smoking  room  to  read  the  article 
about  the  flashes.  This  inter-communication  has 
been  in  progress  for  twenty-six  years.  The  code, 
which  has  been  slowly  enlarged,  now  consists  of 

135 


EVE    AND   THE    EVANGFXIST. 

1,297  words.  Great  difficulty  was  experienced  at 
first,  after  adequate  signals  had  been  devised,  in 
the  interpretation  of  these  signals.  The  word 
talk  was  finally  selected  as  a  basis  for  a  code. 

Initially,  night  after  night,  for  six  weeks,  the 
Earth  flashed  talk  thus'  in  the  heavens:  —  .  — 

Just  as  the  promoters  of  this  stupendous  enter 
prise  were  on  the  eve  of  abandoning  the  project, 
which  had  been  proposed  many  times  in  the  past, 
there  came  answering  flashes,  duplicating  the  sig 
nal  from  the  Earth.  This  was  conclusive  evidence 
that  the  Martians  understood.  Then  "Yes"  was 
framed  and  flashed  back  and  forth.  From  this 
small  beginning  the  present  inter-planetary  vocab 
ulary  has  grown. 

The  Herald  article  was  as  follows : 

"Last  night's  inter-planetary  communication 
ranks  with  the  most  satisfactory  in  the  last  decade. 
Mars  is  now  in  perihelion  and  consequently  but 
33,800.000  miles  distant  from  the  Earth,  whereas 
in  the  aphelion  he  is  61,800,000  miles.  It  is  now 
easy,  by  aid  of  the  latest  powerful  telescopes,  to 
study  with  satisfaction  various  phases  of  life  on 
Mars.  Where  the  telescope  of  the  great  astron 
omer,  Lord  Herschel,  magnified  but  932  times,  that 
of  Prof.  Chas.  J.  Bowlus,  of  the  National  Univer 
sity  of  Prater surb,  magnifies  3402  times. 

"Last  night's  communication  gave  the  Earth 
some  absolutely  new  information  about  our  brother 
planet.  The  operator  at  the  other  end  said,  (I  do 

136 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

not  believe  there  is  any  misunderstanding)  that  the 
Martians  live  to  the  age  of  1,000  years  or  more. 

"Summed  up  we  have,  since  communication  was 
successfully  established,  learned  the  following  facts 
about  Mars  and  his  people : 

"The  population  of  the  planet  is  3,000,000,00x5. 

"Every  municipality  contains,  among  other 
things,  a  municipal  oxygen  plant  from  where 
oxygen  is,  as  desired,  added  to  the  air.  This  is 
clone  to  stimulate  the  old  who,  through  long  years 
of  life,  become  sated  with  Mars'  pleasures  and 
gayeties.  The  oxygen  stimulates  them  and  makes 
them  as  lively  as  you  please. 

"Marlum,  a  new  glandular  compound,  enriches 
the  blood,  and  when  taken  periodically,  rebuilds  the 
body.  It  makes  an  existence  of  a  thousand  years 
easy. 

"An  unusual  feature  of  life  is  the  method  of 
feeding.  It  seems  that  the  Martians'  gullet  and 
windpipe  are  combined  to  such  an  extent  that  they 
eat  by  breathing  the  air.  This  air  is  charged  at 
numerous  government  stations  with  nutrition  in  the 
form  of  steam.  So  delicately  is  the  mixture  made 
that  there  is  no  precipitation  until  all  food  value 
has  been  lost. 

"Mars,  as  has  been  known  for  years,  is  a  land  of 
canals.  It  is  criss-crossed  by  them.  Centuries  ago, 
no  one  seems  to  know  how  long,  primitive  Mar 
tians,  prompted  by  desire,  essayed  to  cross  these 
canals  by  flying.  Cultivation  of  this  desire  through 
several  generations  resulted  in  an  instinctive  effort 

137 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

to  fly.  Arms  gradually  flattened  out  and  event 
ually  became  wings.  Now  the  Martians  fly  every 
where.  Walking  has  recently  been  introduced  as 
a  new  fad. 

"One  of  the  planet's  mineral  products  is  a  stone, 
called  mingo.  It  possesses  the  quality  of  absorbing 
light  and  heat.  There  are  millions  of  tons  of  these 
stones  on  the  planet.  Families  pile  them  up  in  their 
backyards  in  summer,  let  them  absorb  light  and 
heat,  and  then  use  them  through  the  dreary  winter. 
This  discovery,  made  a  couple  of  years  ago,  put  the 
Gas  Trust  out  of  business  and  settled  forever  that 
municipal  bugbear,  meter  rental. 

"Buildings  are  erected  in  a  novel  manner.  Con 
tractors  keep  in  stock  molds  of  various  size  and 
character.  When  a  Martian  wants  a  house  built  he 
selects  the  mold  desired.  It  is  placed  in  position  on 
his  lot  and  is  pumped  full  of  liquid  stone. 

"One  of  the  queer  industries  is  the  manufacture 
of  diamonds.  Mars,  like  Earth,  has  many  vol 
canoes.  A  few  years  ago  enterprising  Martians 
conceived  the  idea  of  tapping  these  volcanoes,  cork 
ing  up  the  piercing  pipes  and  having  diamonds 
made  to  order.  Some  difficulty  was  at  first  ex 
perienced  with  the  corking.  Blow  outs  were  fre 
quent.  Finally  a  huge  man  head,  secured  by  ample 
bolts  and  studs,  was  tried  with  success. 

"The  pressure  on  these  heads  sometimes  reaches 
10,000  pounds  per  square  inch  but  inasmuch  as  this 
pressure  converts  the  carbon  within  into  diamonds, 
nobody  kicks.  Now  every  well  regulated  volcano 

138 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

has  several  diamond  pipes.  These  gems  have  be 
come  so  common  that  the  larger  ones  are  now  in 
common  use  as  door  knobs. 

"Another  enterprise  on  Mars  that  might  with 
profit  be  tried  on  earth  is  the  collection  of  elec 
tricity  from  the  aurora  borealis  and  the  aurora  aus- 
tralis.  Huge  cables  convey  the  fluid  to  whatsoever 
point  desired. 

"The  Martians  claim  that  inasmuch  as  they  are 
a  people  without  jealousy  or  envy  they  have  no 
crime,  no  police,  no  courts  and  no  prisons. 

"As  everything  is  owned  in  common  there  is  no 
money  or  other  medium  of  exchange. 

"Just  now  Mars  and  Earth  are  involved  in  a 
queer  dispute.  Mars  claims  that  death  ends  all  and 
that  heaven  and  hell  are  creations  of  the  imagina 
tion. 

"The  Earth  has  with  zeal  retorted  that  all  Nature 
is  an  argument  for  a  future  existence  and  hris 
brought  forth  the  most  eminent  theologians  of  the 
time  in  support  of  the  contention. 

"So  far  efforts  to  reach  the  other  planets  of  the 
solar  system  have  been  failures.  It  is  believed  that 
by  a  proper  enlargement  of  the  lights  used  success 
will  eventually  be  attained/' 

These  lights  come  from  marton,  a  fine  powder, 
having  remarkable  incandescent  powers.  This 
marton  is  carried  aloft  10,200  feet  by  charges  ot 
pulva,  infinitesimal  in  size,  and  exploded  as  fire 
works  are. 

It  was  time  for  breakfast.    I  was  not  in  a   mood 

139 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

for  tabloid  fare,  had  an  appetite  like  a  corn  cutter 
and  settled  down  to  grape  fruit,  oat  meal,  a  big 
porter  house  steak,  poached  eggs  and  coffee. 

There  was  a  difference  of  more  than  an  hour  be 
tween  the  time  of  New  York  and  Fratersurb.  Eight 
o'clock,  nine  o'clock,  how  slowly  the  hours  dragged 
along.  I  could  not  wait  any  longer.  I  would  see 
if  I  could  get  Alice.  It  took  about  five  minutes  to 
get  the  Meredith  home,  during  which  time  I  was 
impatience  personified.  Alice's  figure  appeared  for 
a  moment  in  the  reflector.  In  that  moment  she 
grew  haughty  and  vanished.  Truly  I  was  in  for  it. 
What  was  my  offense  and  what  was  my  punish 
ment  to  be? 

Did  you  ever  study  a  young  lion  caged  up,  and 
watch  him  pace  backwards  and  forwards  hour  after 
hour?  I  felt  like  that  lion  even  if  I  had  all  out 
doors  for  my  cage. 


140 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
HOMEWARD  BOUND. 

And  say,  without  our  hopes,  without  our  fears, 
Without  the  home  that  plighted  love  endears, 
Without  the  smile  from  partial  beauty  won 
O!    What  weire  man? — a  world  without  a  son. 

— Byron. 

I  did  not  expect  to  see  Raper  again  soon.  Hence, 
I  was  surprised  when  he  popped  into  the  hotel 
lobby  where  I  sat  off  in  a  corner,  looking,  I  im 
agine,  the  picture  of  despair. 

" What's  the  matter,  old  chap?"  he  inquired,  as 
he  dropped  into  the  Davenport  by  my  side.  "Look 
as  if  you  had  been  playing  that  almost  forgotten 
game,  draw  poker,  and  had  had  but  two  fives  to  go 
against  a  big  jack  pot.  If  we  were  living  in  the 
past,  I  would  insist  on  your  taking  a  Scotch  high 
ball  or  a  Martini  cocktail." 

"O,  well,  I  suppose  the  best  of  us  grow  blue  novv 
and  then.  It  is  encouraging  to  take  the  view  that 
depression  in  spirits  comes  from  a  disordered  liver."" 

"Look  here,  young  man,"  Raper  said,  as  he 
looked  me  squarely  in  the  eyes,  "I  don't  believe 
your  bile  is  going  wrong  or  that  you  have  dyspep 
sia,  or  any  other  purely  physical  ailment.  I  have 
been  studying  you  for  four  or  five  days.  My  diag 
nosis  of  your  case  is  correct.  There  has  been  a 

141 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

queer  look  in  your  eyes,  and  you  have  shown  an 
anxiety  that  unmistakably  indicates  one  thing  alone. 
You  are  in  love/' 

"What!  Do  I  show  it?"  I  exclaimed,  with  a 
suddenness  that  betrayed  the  truth.  "Well,  your 
guess  is  correct.  My  plight  is  annoying.  The  girl 
I  love  has  grown  indifferent,  and  I  am  distracted. 
There  is  some  misunderstanding  some  place."  Then 
I  proceeded  to  tell  him  all  that  had  happened,  omit 
ting,  I  thought  at  the  time,  nothing  that  might 
have  any  bearing  on  the  case. 

"Cheer  up,  old  chap,"  Raper  said,  shaking  me 
and  making  me  feel  like  fighting.  "The  mystery  in 
this  case  is  the  best  indication  in  the  world  of  suc 
cess.  Why,  have  you  forgotten  that  'the  course  of 
true  love  never  did  run  smooth  ?'  You  are  morbid 
this  morning.  Why  don't  you  get  out  in  the  fresh 
air  and  sunshine  and  see  things  as  they  are,  not  as 
you  imagine  they  are?  Here,  brace  up,  and  let 
Richard  be  himself  again."  Again  he  shook  me. 

The  advice  was  good,  I  conceded.  We  started 
out  together  for  a  stroll.  The  morning  was  bright 
and  the  ozone  exhilirating.  We  had  not  gone 
more  than  two  squares,  when  I  exclaimed,  acknowl 
edging  the  remarkable  change  I  had  undergone 
mentally — "Raper,  you  are  a  good  doctor.  You 
may  be  my  physician  after  this." 

"You  would  better  learn  the  size  of  my  fee  be 
fore  you  permanently  engage  me." 

"The  best  is  always  the  cheapest,"  I  answered. 

Finally  reaching  42nd  street,  the  location  of  the 

142 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

Government  Railways  station,  we  looked  about  a 
few  moments  and  started  back  to  the  hotel. 

"Look  here,  Young,"  Raper  said,  seized  with  a 
new  thought,  "I  am  tired  of  projectile  riding  for  a 
while.  Let  us  board  a  Pennsylvania  road  train  and 
take  our  time  about  returning  to  Fratersurb.  I  am 
ordered  down  there  to  cover  Father  Gladstone's  re 
port  of  the  trip  to  China.  Come,  go  along  with  me. 
The  Gladstone  party  will  beat  us  but  a  few  hours 
anyhow."  Raper's  company  had  been  so  enlivening 
that  I  consented  on  the  spot. 

"We  can  get  a  train  every  fifteen  minutes," 
Raper  explained.  "Let's  go  back  to  the  hotel 
where  you  can  notify  your  party  of  your  plans  and 
then  return  to  the  depot." 

"I  am  willing,"  I  answered.  I  was  ready  to  go 
almost  anywhere  with  my  companion,  so  comfort 
ing  was  his  presence.  Twenty  minutes  later  found 
us  at  the  station.  There  was  a  Fratersurb  train 
standing  in  the  huge  shed.  Having  secured  our 
tickets,  we  climbed  aboard,  entered  the  smoking 
compartment  of  our  car,  lighted  cigars,  and  settled 
back  in  our  seats  to  enjoy  the  journey. 

"Three  minutes,  and  we  are  due  to  leave,"  re 
marked  Raper,  glancing  at  his  watch.  I  leaned 
back  among  the  cushions,  blew  a  chain  of  smoke 
rings  from  my  lips  and  closed  my  eyes,  lost  in  my 
own  thoughts. 

"Hello,  Raper,"  said  a  great,  strong,  commanding 
voice.  "Glad  to  see  you.  Your  chance  has  come. 
Hi  Williams  is  at  the  throttle  and  is  a  good  man  to 

143 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

ride  with.  You  remember  I  promised  you  a  ride 
last  May?" 

I  opened  my  eyes  and  looked  up  at  the  big  fellow 
before  me. 

"Mr.  Carney  (J.  C),  my  old  time  college  mate, 
Mr.  Young.  If  the  cab  will  accommodate  both  of 
us,  I  will  go,  but  I  can't  leave  my  friend." 

"The  cab  is  roomy  enough,"  answered  the  big 
railroader,  as  he  gripped  my  hand  with  rugged 
force.  "Come,  quick,"  he  added  as  he  fairly  pulled 
us  out  of  our  seats. 

A  word  from  the  General  Superintendent,  for 
such  former  Yardmaster  Carney  now  was,  and  we 
piled  into  the  fireman's  seat.  There  was  a  hasty 
introduction  to  the  grimy  driver,  who  was  waiting 
the  signal  to  start. 

"All  aboard,"  the  conductor  shouted  for  the  last 
time.  A  second  later,  the  driver  pulled  the 
throttle  out  three  notches  on  the  quadrant  and  the 
drive  wheels,  twelve  feet  in  height,  were  slipping 
around.  At  every  revolution,  we  took  a  plunge 
forward,  and  saw  the  ground  slip  away  from  us 
faster  than  it  appeared  to  when  we  were  in  the  pro 
jectile.  There  were  no  grade  crossings,  and  ahead 
a  perfectly  straight  single  rail  track,  the  long,  slen 
der  train  being  held  erect  by  huge  revolving  gyro 
scopes.  I  looked  at  the  engineman.  The  throttle, 
now  half  way  out,  was  held  in  his  iron  grip.  The 
needle  on  the  steam  gauge  was  flying  back  and 
forth  from  250  pounds  to  800  pounds.  It  has  al 
ready  been  explained  that  the  old  time  steam  boilers 

144 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

had  been  discarded.  In  their  places  were  much 
smaller  boilers  in  which  steam  was  generated  by  the 
flash  system.  There  were  several  advantages ;  one, 
the  small  amount  of  space,  relatively,  occupied  and 
another  the  room  given  for  larger  drive  wheels  and 
stronger  machinery.  The  locomotive  was  driven 
by  four  coupled  rotary  engines,  developing  at  the 
maximum  steam  pressure  10,000  horse  power. 

We  had  passed  Philadelphia  and  were  on  a  beau 
tiful  stretch  of  track  when  the  fireman  managed  to 
tell  me,  above  the  roar  of  the  train,  that  we  were 
making  300  miles  an  hour.  The  landscape  was 
whirling  about  outside  as  if  it  were  a  part  of  a 
green  and  brown  snowstorm.  The  Pennsylvania 
railroad,  long  noted  for  its  conservatism,  had  not 
adopted  the  electric  flash  system,  which,  however, 
had  been  taken  up  by  Government  officials  in 
charge  of  other  railroads.  Several  roads  were 
using  electric  locomotives,  and  others  a  new  type  of 
machine  in  which  pulva  was  exploded  in  cylinders, 
the  same  as  in  the  old  reciprocating  gas  engines. 

An  interesting  feature,  but  of  course,  not  a  new 
one,  was  to  watch  freight  trains  pass  each  other 
Sidetracks,  for  anything  else  but  placing  cars,  long 
ago  went  into  disuse.  Now,  freight  trains  and  the 
slower  passenger  trains  ride  over  one  another.  All 
trains  of  that  class  that  are  east  bound,  are  at  each 
end  fitted  with  special  tracks  that  run  over  the  tops 
of  the  strongly  built  cars.  At  each  end  of  these 
trains  is  a  track  running  up  at  an  angle  of  about 
twenty-five  degrees.  A  west  bound  train  meets  an 

145 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

east  bound  train,  runs  up  over  the  top  of  it  and 
then  down  on  the  main  track  without  either  train 
for  a  moment  slackening  speed.  Chief  Engineer 
Garstang  contends  that  he  is  now  perfecting  this 
device  so  that  it  will  be  possible  to  use  it  on  fast 
passenger  trains,  making  the  trip  from  New  York 
to  Chicago  in  four  hours,  and  the  distance  across 
the  continent  in  10  hours.  These  fast  passenger 
trains  are  veritable  palaces  on  wheels.  The  idea  of 
economy  in  operation,  however,  dominates,  and 
there  is  no  waste  of  energy  anywhere.  For  in 
stance,  the  enormous  air  pressure,  due  to  the  speed 
of  the  train,  is  utilized  to  operate  a  dynamo  that  not 
only  supplies  the  train  with  light,  but  with  heat  as 
well,  even  for  the  kitchen  of  the  dining  car.  I  could 
not  help  but  compare  the  boiler  of  our  locomotive 
with  some  of  those  in  the  National  Transportation 
Museum  in  Fratersurb.  It  was  at  least  fifteen  feet 
longer  than  the  longest  and  very  narrow  in  com 
parison.  The  guide  wheels  were  double  the  size 
of  the  old  ones,  as  were  the  wheels  under  the  cars. 
The  new  locomotives,  notwithstanding  their  size 
and  the  speed  made,  are  much  easier  on  the  tracks 
than  the  old  locomotives,  the  difference  being  that 
on  the  new  locomotives  there  are  no  great  counter 
balances  on  the  drive  wheels  to  overcome  dead 
centers  as  was  the  case  in  the  reciprocating  engines. 
This  new  type  did  away  with  the  incessant  pound 
ing  on  the  rails  that  years  ago  was  a  constant  night 
mare  to  the  roadmaster. 

All  these  things  raced  through  my  mind  as  we 

146 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

tore  through  the  country,  passing  cities,  towns  and 
villages  that  were  mere  patches  on  the  right  of  way. 
All  the  time  I  was  holding  onto  my  seat  for  dear 
life.  I  really  did  not  occupy  that  seat  a  second  in 
the  entire  trip,  but  instead  stood  stooped,  clinging 
to  a  rail  at  my  side.  I  envied  the  engineer  who  sat 
in  his  seat  like  a  born  Kentuckian  in  the  saddle. 

We  plunged  through  numerous  tunnels  without 
slackening  speed  for  a  second.  When  the  first  one 
came,  I  drew  back  in  horror,  for  it  looked  as  if 
we  were  about  to  plunge  against  the  mountain  side 
and  be  battered  to  pieces.  There  was  a  moment  of 
darkness  and  then  a  burst  of  sunshine  again.  There 
was  a  new  thrill  every  minute.  No  galvanic  battery 
could  have  stirred  me  more.  I  think  my  hair  must 
have  stood  on  end  the  entire  trip.  As  for  Raper, 
he  was  calm,  and  smiled  in  amusement  at  me  every 
time  he  got  my  eye.  Thank  Heaven,  Fratersurb  was 
in  sight  and  we  were  slowing  down.  No  more  loco 
motive  rides  for  me.  If  I  am  to  be  scared  to  death, 
I  prefer  to  select  the  method.  The  train  came  to 
a  standstill,  and  Raper  and  I  climbed  down  after 
thanking  Williams  for  the  ride. 

"You're  welcome  to  try  it  any  time/'  he  re 
marked,  as  he  winked  at  his  fireman. 

"I  feel  as  if  I  had  been  in  a  dust  storm."  I  told 
Raper  as  we  jumped  into  a  motor  car  for  the  ride 
to  my  home. 


147 


CHAPTER  XX. 
DESPAIR  AND  HOPE. 


Hope  is  a  lover's  staff;  walk  hence  with  that 
And  manage  it  against  despairing  thoughts. 

— Shakespeare. 


Father  and  mother  had  gone  down  to  West 
Baden  to  spend  a  couple  of  weeks.  It  was  up  to 
Raper  and  me  to  keep  bachelors'  hall.  How  invit 
ing  the  bath  after  that  dash,  tearing,  as  it  seemed, 
strips  out  of  the  country's  topography.  My  den, 
dear  old  den,  it  never  looked  more  alluring  than 
when  we  piled  into  it  that  forenoon  for  something 
like  genuine  rest  after  the  past  few  days'  stren- 
uousness.  I  had  ordered  lunch,  so  there  was  noth 
ing  in  the  way  of  domestic  duties  to  bother  about. 
I  was  anxiety  personified  to  see  Alice.  There  had 
been  no  message  at  Peking,  as  promised,  and  in 
dignation  was  plainly  evident  when  I  last  saw  her 
for  but  a  moment  in  the  reflector  of  the  communi 
cator  I  had  used  in  New  York.  I  resolved  to  see  her 
just  as  soon  as  I  could  after  lunch.  What  comfort 
there  was  that  forenoon  in  the  divan  for  Raper  and 
in  that  Morris  chair  for  me.  It  seemed  I  had  never 
before  appreciated  the  chair  at  its  true  worth.  We 
both  dropped  into  a  semi-somnolent  state  and  the 

148 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

time  passed  quickly.  I  was  aroused  from  my  rev 
erie  by  the  sharp  ringing  of  the  dining  room  bell. 
"Come,"  said  I,  shaking  Raper,  "lunch  is  ready/' 
I  had  Raper  sit  down  at  my  right  while  I  busied 
myself  in  taking  the  dust-tight  lid  from  the  tray,  a 
modern  device  now  in  general  use.  There  was  a 
burst  of  steam,  accompanied  by  savory  odors. 
With  the  lid  off,  this  tray  was  like  a  box  eight 
inches  deep  with  the  top  off.  I  unfastened  the  four 
walls,  which  were  on  hinges,  and  let  them  fall 
down  over  the  outer  rim  of  our  table.  In  their 
proper  places  were  napery,  silver,  condiments  and 
the  meal  itself,  puree  of  peas,  roast  lamb,  with  mint 
sauce,  browned  potatoes,  lettuce  salad,  sliced  to 
matoes  and  strawberry  shortcake;  truly,  a  feast  fit 
for  a  king.  We  were  both  ravenously  hungry  and 
ate  that  meal  with  a  never  surpassed  zest.  Lunch 
over,  I  raised  and  locked  the  walls,  put  the  cover 
on,  pulled  a  lever  and  sent  the  dishes  and  debris 
down  the  slide  to  the  fence  station,  where  soon,  on 
his  regular  rounds,  the  tray  would  be  picked  up  by 
one  of  the  House  Food  Supply  Co.'s  men.  The 
reader  will  readily  divine  that  one  of  the  phases  of 
the  servant  girl  problem  of  long  ago  has  been 
solved.  By  agreement  with  this  company,  meals 
are  furnished  at  stated  hours  each  day,  delivery  and 
collection  being  made  by  motor  wagons.  Delivery 
is  automatically  announced  when  the  tray  slides 
into  the  dining  room  on  a  miniature  track  by  a  trip 
switch  ringing  the  annunciator. 

House  cleaning  has  been  reduced  to  a  science. 

149 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

Every  room  now  has  its  dust  tube,  by  which  all 
dirt  is  quickly  and  satisfactorily  removed  by  the 
vacuum  method,  the  air  sucking  pumps  being  lo 
cated  at  a  central  municipal  station. 

With  lunch  over,  chum  and  I  retreated  to  the 
inviting  den,  lighted  a  pipe  apiece,  and  studied  the 
pattern  of  the  ceiling. 

"Now  look  here,  Young,"  said  Raper,  with  an 
emphasis  that  indicated  he  was  successfully  read 
ing  my  thoughts,  "I  know  that  you  want  to  see 
somebody  and  that  you  want  to  see  her  awfully 
bad.  Go  ahead  and  leave  me  alone  here  for  a  good 
long  rest  in  preparation  for  the  work  I  have  ahead 
tonight/' 

"If  you  really  want  to  be  left  alone,  of  course  I 
shall  be  obliged  to  accommodate  you,"  I  answered. 

"Oh,  go  along,  you  know  you  are  almost  dying 
to  get  away,"  and  I  went. 

There  was  a  storage  battery  car  line  that  ran  to 
within  two  squares  of  Alice's  home.  I  boarded  an 
awfully  slow  car,  at  least  it  seemed  so,  and  yet  I 
knew  that  it  was  making  part  of  the  trip  at  60 
miles  an  hour.  When  I  alighted — I  could  not  be 
mistaken — Alice  was  standing  at  the  gate,  gazing 
down  the  street  in  my  direction.  How  would  she 
welcome  me?  I  framed  a  dozen  different  saluta 
tions  as  I  drew  near,  uncertain  finally  of  what  I 
should  say.  The  figure  ahead  of  me  suddenly  van 
ished  indoors.  Alice  was  modest  and  did  not  want 
tc  show  undue  interest  in  my  arrival.  She  would, 
of  course,  pretend  that  she  had  not  seen  me.  I 

150 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

pressed  the  bell  button,  expecting  that  Alice  would 
hurry  to  the  door  to  meet  me.  I  was  disappointed 
when  her  mother,  a  sweet-faced,  white-haired  old 
lady,  wearing  a  lace  cap,  answered  the  bell.  Omit 
ting  the  usual  amenities,  anent  the  weather  and 
other  topics  always  timely  on  such  occasions,  I  ex 
citedly  asked  for  Alice. 

"Alice!  Alice!"  her  mother  called  repeatedly, 
but  there  was  no  response.  Dismay  seized  me,  and 
I  clutched  a  table  for  support. 

"Sit  down,"  her  mother  urged  me,  "and  I  will 
see  if  I  can  find  her.  She  was  here  but  a  moment 
ago." 

"Alice  could  not  be  found.  She  had  slipped  away 
to  a  neighbor's,  and  given  me  painful  and  unmis 
takable  evidence  that  she  did  not  want  to  see  me. 
What  had  happened?  What  had  I  done?  What 
was  the  cause  of  her  mysterious  behavior?  I  could 
not  answer.  I  reeled  away  like  a  drunken  man, 
jumped  a  car  and  hurried  back  home.  I  was  so 
noisy  in  entering  the  house  that  I  awakened  Raper 
who  had  just  enjoyed  the  first  installment  of  a 
needed  snooze.  He  rubbed  his  eyes,  sat  up  and 
exclaimed:  "Heavens,  Young,  what  is  the  matter 
with  you ;  you  look  like  a  wild  man  ?  Bad  luck,  of 
course.  That's  plain.  You  went  to  the  young 
lady's  house  and  she  could  not  be  found.  She  does 
not  want  to  see  you.  She  is  angry  with  you,  and  in 
consequence,  she  being  unwilling,  telepathy  is  of  no 
avail.  What  have  you  been  doing?  The  young 
lady  is  jealous.  But  of  whom?  Ah,  perhaps  some- 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

one  has  been  telling  her  about  the  Titu's  daughter. 
Perhaps  you  have  been  misrepresented !" 

The  mystery  was  clear  that  minute.  Like  a  flash, 
I  remembered  pulling  Miss  Onwa  to  me  that  day 
I  stood  before  the  reflector,  talking  to  Alice.  She 
had  not  understood,  naturally  decided  I  was  a  flirt 
and  had  thrown  me  over.  What  a  pickle  I  was  in ! 
How  lucky  I  was  at  the  time  to  have  an  almost 
omnipotent  newspaper  friend. 

There  was  a  ring  of  the  door  bell  and  a  mes 
senger  boy  from  the  post  office  brought  me  a  special 
delivery  letter,  postmarked  Peking.  Who  in  the 
Chinese  capital  had  written  me?  Hastily  ripping 
open  the  envelope,  I  came  to  another  surprise.  The 
yellow  cover  contained  Alice's  promised  message, 
the  message  that  was  not  delivered  to  me.  It  had 
gone  astray.  The  message  read:  "Cannot  marry 
you.  My  great  great  grandmother  was  a  very 
wicked  woman.  I  have  kept  my  pledge." 

Why  is  it  that  the  clouds  all  become  so  dark  at 
the  same  time?  There  must  be  a  silver  lining.  No 
one  would  be  a  more  eager  watcher  than  I  for  it. 

Raper  was  sitting  on  the  divan  with  his  head 
buried  in  his  hands.  He  was  silent  for  a  couple  of 
minutes.  Then  he  straightened  up,  smiled  and  re 
marked  with  determination:  "You  certainly  are 
in  a  muddle.  Wait  a  day  or  so,  your  troubles  will 
be  a  memory,  and  I  will  have  an  invitation  to  be 
best  man  at  your  wedding." 

I  had  so  much  confidence  in  Raper's  ability  that 
I  promptly  consented. 

152 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

"Now  lie  down  here,  quit  your  worrying  and 
convince  yourself  that  everything  will  turn  out  all 
right.  I  am  going  down  town  to  do  some  work, 
preliminary  to  the  meeting  tonight,"  said  Raper,  as 
he  forced  me  down  into  his  place,  began  whistling, 
slammed  the  outer  door  and  disappeared. 

I  was  expected  to  supplement  the  report  Father 
Gladstone  would  make  with  one  of  my  own.  My 
time  for  preparation  was  short.  Summoning  an 
amanuensis  by  communicator,  I  was  soon  ready 
for  a  half  hour's  dictation.  The  Brotherhood  of 
Man  had  gained  a  great  victory  in  the  peaceful  con 
quest  of  China.  Some  facts  were  not  clear  to  me, 
and  I  went  to  my  library  for  light.  Accidentally,  in 
an  old  scrap  book  that  had  been  handed  down  from 
generation  to  generation,  I  ran  across  the  follow 
ing,  printed  in  the  Cincinnati  Times  Star  of  some 
date  in  May,  1906:  "Labrador  seems  to  be  the 
'Utopia'  of  which  Sir  Thomas  Moore  dreamed  and 
wrote.  According  to  the  official  report  of  Sir  Wil 
liam  McGregor,  the  governor  of  Newfoundland,  of 
which  Province  Labrador  is  a  dependency,  the 
people  of  Labrador  are  so  good  that,  though  it  has 
a  population  of  10,000,  of  whom  3500  are  white 
men,  and  though  it  was  at  one  time  a  famous 
pirate  stronghold,  yet  there  is  today  on  the  whole 
island  no  court,  no  jail,  no  magistrate  nor  any  other 
officer  of  the  law  on  the  whole  thousand  miles  of 
seaboard,  not  even  a  single,  solitary  policeman  or 
village  constable.  Forty  years  ago  there  was  a 
Circuit  Court  there  every  summer.  But  as  year 

153 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

after  year  they  found  nothing  to  do,  it  was  abol 
ished.  And  so  for  thirty-three  years  no  court  has 
ever  held  session  on  the  island.  There  is  a  tradi 
tion  that  about  50  years  ago  there  was  a  criminal 
charge  against  an  Esquimaux,  who  shot  a  man  he 
caught  walking  with  his  wife.  It  appears  absolute 
ly  to  be  an  ideal  community,  where  all  the  men  are 
brave  and  all  the  women  honest." 
The  Brotherhoood  idea  incubating! 


154 


CHAPTER  XXL 
NEWS  OF  A  DAY. 

With  news  the  Time's  in  labor, 
And  throws  forth  each  minute  some. 

— Shakespeare. 

The  meeting  that  night  in  the  Council  Hall  was, 
of  course,  a  great  success.  It  attracted  world  wide 
attention.  Father  Gladstone  gave  a  detailed  ac 
count  of  our  experiences,  naturally  giving  predomi 
nance  to  the  success  scored  in  Peking.  It  was  a 
busy  night  for  my  newspaper  chum.  It  was  late 
next  morning  when  we  got  down  to  breakfast. 
There  was  a  copy  of  the  Fratersurb  Journal  on  the 
rack  where  it  had  fallen  from  the  press.  I  handed 
it  to  Raper  who  hurriedly  scanned  it  and  tossed  it 
to  me.  I  looked  over  it  indifferently  and  was  about 
to  throw  it  to  one  side  when  an  article  I  had  missed 
at  first  glance  arrested  my  attention  and  caused  me 
tc  give  a  whistle  of  astonishment. 

"Raper,  you  are  responsible  for  that,"  I  declared, 
thrusting  the  article  in  question  in  front  of  his  very 
eyes.  He  chuckled  to  himself  and  read : 

HEROISM 

Of  Brotherhood  Leader  is  Rewarded  by  Decoration 
of  the  Red  Button  From  Emperor  of  China. 

155 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

Robert  Young,  of  this  city,  one  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Brotherhood  of  Man,  has  in  his  possession  a 
treasure  that  is  a  souvenir  of  his  recent  visit  to 
China.  It  is  the  decoration  of  the  red  button  from 
the  Emperor,  given  in  commemoration  of  bravery 
and  presence  of  mind,  shown  in  a  trying  moment 
while  in  Peking.  Mr.  Young  was  a  guest  wniie 
there  of  the  Titu.  The  latter's  daughter  ran  into 
danger  in  getting  too  near  a  live  wire.  Mr. 
Young's  prompt  action  saved  the  life  of  the  young 
lady,  who  is  a  favorite  with  the  Emperor.  At  the 
time  the  accident  occurred  Mr.  Young  had  con 
nection  by  communicator  with  Fratersurb. 

Mr.  Young  tried  to  keep  the  incident  a  secret, 
but  did  not  succeed. 

The  gift  in  China  of  the  red  button  is  a  highly 
coveted  honor. 

"Now,"  I  said,  "for  that  you  must  read  the  news 
of  the  day.  I  have  for  more  than  a  week  been  out 
of  touch  with  the  world." 

"All  right,"  answered  Raper,  "here  goes." 

Springfield,  Ohio,  June  23 — Grading  for  the  Cin 
cinnati  and  New  York  Electric  Flash  Railway 
is  in  rapid  progress.  At  a  point  three  miles  west 
of  here  the  cut  through  the  limestone  cliffs  is  be 
ing  pushed  with  the  aid  of  large  quantities  of  car 
bonic  acid  gas  which  liquifies  the  stone  and  makes 
removal  easy.  It  is  much  cheaper  than  the  old 
method  of  blasting  and  better  still,  the  element  of 
danger  is  removed. 

Washington,  June  23 — An  addition  to  the  Na- 

156 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

tional  Memorial  building  is  to  be  started  next 
month.  The  original  building,  which  was  erected 
150  years  ago,  now  contains  records  in  moving 
pictures  and  voices  of  more  than  3,000  celebrities  of 
the  past.  At  a  recent  private  exhibition  Madame 
Sembrich,  a  celebrated  prima  donna  of  two  centu 
ries  ago,  appeared  on  the  stage  and  acted  and  sang 
just  as  she  had  in  real  life.  So  realistic  was  the  en 
tertainment,  if  such  it  can  with  propriety  be  called, 
that  it  looked  as  if  the  dead  had  really  come  to  life. 

Chicago,  111.,  June  23) — Michael  Mulvaney,  the 
last  labor  union  member  in  the  country,  died  here 
last  night.  He  had  always  been  a  warm  champion 
of  the  rights  of  organized  labor  and  not  until  the 
Brotherhood  form  of  government  had  proved  an 
unquestioned  success  did  he  consent  to  the  relin- 
quishment  of  the  charter  of  the  Bricklayers'  Union, 
in  which  he  had  been  a  conspicuous  figure. 

New  York  City,  June  23 — Marvin  Martin,  owner 
of  a  motor  car,  was  arrested  today  for  knocking 
a  part  of  the  steeple  off  St.  John's  Universale 
church.  His  defense  is  that  he  was  momentarily 
blinded  by  the  sun  and  in  that  time  the  accident 
occurred. 

Lincoln,  Neb.,  June  23 — Fred  Rapp,  pioneer, 
who  died  today,  was  a  firm  follower  of  the 
Brotherhood  idea  as  expounded  by  Col.  Wm.  J. 
Bryan,  one  of  the  last  presidents.  Mr.  Rapp  had 
a  fund  of  interesting  reminiscences  of  Bryan,  which 
he  had  gotten  from  his  great  grandfather,  who  was 
one  of  Bryan's  staunchest  admirers. 

157 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

New  Orleans,  June  23 — Madame  Patti  Throm- 
bosi,  the  great  Italian  diva,  who  is  now  making  her 
fifth  annual  farewell  tour,  made  complaint  today  to 
the  municipal  authorities  of  the  loss  of  her 
diamonds.  They  mysteriously  disappeared  last 
night  from  her  private  dressing  room.  Madame 
says  her  nerves  are  shattered  and  that  she  may 
be  compelled  to  take  a  rest  for  a  couple  of  weeks. 

Buffalo,  New  York,  June  23 — At  the  meeting 
last  night  of  the  Federated  Women's  clubs  of 
Buffalo,  a  resolution,  pledging  members  not  to  sup 
port  for  public  office  any  man  suspected  of  making 
his  wife  build  the  fires,  was  adopted  by  a  unani 
mous  vote. 

Quito,  South  America,  June  23 — The  sport  of 
riding  the  wind  is  growing  here  in  popularity.  As 
has  been  known  for  many  years  an  air  current 
above  the  equator  rushes  around  the  globe  at  the 
rate  of  70  miles  an  hour.  In  electrically  heated  and 
compressed  air  fed  motor  cars  the  young  society 
people  of  this  city  are  riding  the  wind.  They  de 
clare  to  those  too  timid  to  try  it  that  it  is  rare 
sport. 

St.  Louis,  Mo.,  June  23 — Harrison  College  here 
was  today  turned  over  to  the  jurisdiction  and  con 
trol  of  the  National  Educational  Commission.  It 
was  the  last  to  remain  on  the  outside.  All  schools, 
colleges  and  universities  are  now  free  to  the  youth 
of  the  country.  No  one  is  debarred  on  account  of 
inability  to  pay  tuition. 

South  McAlester,  Old  Indian  Territory,  June  23 

158 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

— Sitting  Horse  and  his  family  of  five,  the  last  sur 
viving  Indians  of  the  country,  have  rented  their 
farm  east  of  the  city,  and  will  go  east  for  the  sum 
mer.  Most  of  their  time  will  be  spent  at  Atlantic 
City. 

Liberia,  Africa,  June  23 — The  exodus  of  ne 
groes  from  old  North  America  to  this  city  and  con 
tiguous  country  continues  with  unceasing  interest. 
The  splendid  schools,  paying  factories,  magnificent 
churches  and  fine  farms  established  and  conducted 
in  this  country  by  the  colored  race  furnish  an  illus 
tration  of  their  capabilities  under  the  beneficent 
plan  of  segregation  and  wise  and  energetic  leader 
ship.  Samuel  Huffman,  the  President,  has  just  re 
turned  from  Brotherhood  land  with  new  ideas 
which  he  will  suggest  for  adoption. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  June  23 — The  annual  con 
ference  of  the  Church  Universale  opens  here  to 
day.  There  no  longer  being  denominations  fighting 
for  the  same  victory  but  with  different  weapons, 
the  time  will  be  taken  up  with  a  discussion  of 
numerous  questions  raised  by  higher  criticism,  in 
cluding  this  one :  "Did  the  idea  of  a  .hell  originate 
in  a  country  of  active  volcanoes  ?" 

Cincinnati,  O.,  June  23) — The  old  "lid"  that  was 
fitted  over  this  city  many  years  agO'was  unearthed 
yesterday  afternoon  by  some  workmen  who  were 
excavating  "Over  the  Rhine"  for  a  new  building 
for  the  Ingalls  Co-operative  Co.  So  heavy  was 
the  demand  by  communicators  on  the  municipal 
newspaper  for  information  as  to  what  the  "lid" 

159 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

was  and  what  it  was  used  for  that  the  issuance  of 
an  extra  was  imperative.  The  newspaper  had  a 
difficult  time  of  it  to  make  it  clear  that  putting  on 
the  "lid"  was  synonymous  for  law  enforcement, 
the  difficulty  consisting  in  explaining  there  had  for 
a  long  period  of  years  been  general  non-observance 
of  law. 

San  Francisco,  Cal.,  June  23 — The  severe  earth 
quake  shock  here  last  night  caused  more  than 
momentary  alarm,  due  to  apprehension  that  large 
buildings  might  be  damaged.  A  cursory  examina 
tion  shows  that  the  new  "basket"  construction  is 
all  that  was  originally  claimed  for  it  by  Architects 
Wm.  Miller  and  Robert  C.  Gotwald.  This  con 
struction  permits  of  considerable  swaying  without 
the  possibility  of  breaking  anywhere  from  cellar  to 
garret. 

Springfield,  O.,  June  23 — The  new  directory  cen 
sus,  completed  today,  gives  Springfield  a  population 
of  half  a  million.  The  drilling  of  the  eleventh  well 
for  internal  heat  for  public  use  was  started  this 
morning.  Mayor  Burnett,  descendant  of  a  well 
known  chief  executive  of  two  centuries  ago,  was 
out  in  his  airship  this  morning,  inspecting  the  city's 
world-famous  park  system.  The  monument  to  Te- 
cumseh,  the  Indian  chief,  is  to  be  unveiled  on  July 
4th. 

"Stop,"  I  commanded.  "Read  no  more.  I  must, 
if  you  will  excuse  me,  write  a  note  at  once." 

"Go  ahead,  my  boy,  don't  let  me  stop  you.  Give 
me  one  guess  and  I  will  tell  you  where  it  is  going." 

160 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

"Bury  yourself  in  your  paper.  Imagine  you  are 
for  the  next  five  minutes  in  Syracuse/' 

This  is  the  note  I  finally  dispatched  by  one  of 
the  Fratersurb  Message  Delivery  Company's  mes 
sengers,  each  of  which  is  obliged  to  wear  while  on 
duty  a  never  failing  speed  recorder : 

"My  dear  Alice: — Do  not  believe  me  a  prevari 
cator.  I  kept  my  word  and  did  not  flirt  with 
Chinese  belles.  Won't  you  believe  me  ?  I  must  see 
you.  Won't  you  please  suggest  an  hour  ?" 


161 


CHAPTER  XXII. 
ECONOMICAL  MEASURE. 

:  *  "»? 

Learning  is  an  addition  beyond 
Nobility  or  birth;   honor  of  blood, 

Without    the   ornament  of   knowledge,    is 
A  glorious  ignorance. 

— James  Shirley. 

Probably  because  Alice's  mother  sent  back  a  mes 
sage,  reading  "Alice  has  gone  to  New  York  to  visit 
the  Misses  Spangler,  of  72nd  St.,  and  will  be 
absent  for  two  weeks,"  I  accepted,  with  alacrity, 
an  invitation  to  accompany  Raper  to  New  York 
City,  to  which  metropolis  he  had  been  assigned  to 
write  up  a  device  for  reaching  the  Martians  by 
wireless  telegraphy,  which  would  be  comparatively 
cheap,  compared  with  the  present  flash  system. 

Nakala  Tensal,  the  greatest  electrician  of  the  day, 
had  years  before  declared  that  communication  with 
Mars  by  electricity  was  feasible  and  would  one  day 
be  a  reality. 

The  gist  of  his  argument  was  that  the  Earth 
and  Mars  lay  in  the  same  great,  unbroken  bed  of 
ether  and  that  communication  was  merely  a  matter 
of  commanding  sufficient  power  to  start  the  neces 
sary  electrical  disturbance  to  transmit  messages. 

The  problem  of  power  had,  with  the  transmis- 

162 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

sion  of  giant  energy  from  Niagara  Falls,  become 
simplified.  On  reaching  New  York,  Raper  and  I, 
after  a  brief  rest,  ran  down  to  Wardenclyffe,  Long 
Island,  where,  many  years  before,  a  huge  tower  had 
been  erected  for  inter-planetary  communication.  It 
had  been  tried,  but  initially  was  a  failure,  not  from 
a  mechanical  standpoint,  but  because  it  had  never 
been  possible  to  give  the  necessary  notice  to  the 
scientists  of  Mars  of  what  was  wanted  at  their 
end  to  make  the  project  a  success.  Notwithstand 
ing  the  fact  that  Mars  was  much  older  than  the 
Earth,  his  inhabitants  had  been  behind  this 
planet's  people  in  the  use  of  electricity  in  some 
fields.  With  the  development  of  the  flash  system 
of  communication,  Mars  had  finally  been  notified 
of  the  desire  to  substitute  wireless  telegraphy  for 
economical  reasons. 

It  had  taken  several  months  to  make  it  clear  just 
what  kind  of  a  receiving  apparatus  and  sending  in 
strument  as  well  as  just  what  voltage  would  be 
necessary. 

Arrangements  had  progressed  to  the  point  where 
the  initial  test  was  to  be  made.  The  great  electri 
cian  had  convincingly  argued  that  it  was  possible  by 
his  improved  apparatus  to  send  wireless  messages 
to  any  given  point  with  as  much  accuracy  as  to  fo 
cus  rays  of  light  by  means  of  lens  upon  any  given 
spot.  It  was  at  this  time,  too,  that  a  more  definite 
understanding  had  been  reached  as  to  the  relations 
of  the  planets'  dominant  languages,  so  that  alto 
gether  everything  was  propitious  for  the  test. 

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EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

These  being  days  of  huge  co-operative  enterpris 
es  and  startling  inventions  and  projects,  the  world 
at  large  had  grown  somewhat  blase.  There  being, 
however,  so  much  interest  in  unsolved  mysteries  of 
Mars,  veiling  his  people,  their  occupations  and  soci 
ological  relations,  the  news,  widely  heralded,  of  the 
imminent  experiment,  aroused  the  whole  world  as 
if  a  charge  of  dynamite  had  been  exploded  under  it. 

John  Cook  and  Byron  Qingerman,  conceded  to 
be  among  the  foremost  electricians  of  the  day,  had 
direct  charge  of  the  test.  By  order  of  the  National 
Board  of  Electrical  Supervision,  all  needed  elec 
trical  energy  from  the  great  power  houses  at  Niag 
ara  Falls,  now  falls  no  longer,  but  instead  dry,  bar 
ren  rocks,  the  water  having  been  diverted  to  sluice 
ways,  was  turned  on  to  the  cables,  leading  to  the 
tower  at  WardenclyfTe.  A  reading  of  the  dials 
showed  the  equivalent  of  one  million  horse  power, 
but  a  small  per  cent  of  which  it  was  found  neces 
sary  to  use  after  the  instruments  on  the  two  planets 
had  been  tuned.  Would  the  test  be  a  success  ?  This 
was  the  question  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  the 
people  of  both  spheres. 

When  all  was  in  readiness  and  the  switch  was 
thrown,  thousands  stood  around  almost  breathless, 
awaiting  the  outcome.  The  electricity  leaped  from 
cable  up  mast  to  the  strong,  but  delicately  fashioned 
needles. 

There  were  flashes  of  blue  fire  as  Operator 
George  Carter  sent  the  first  message.  Then  came 
a  wait,  a  wait  in  which  much  of  the  Earth's  future 

164 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

was  enwrapped.  Electricians,  scientists  and  news 
paper  men  sat  or  stood  around  with  tense  eager 
faces.  Carter  was  the  first  to  smile  as  he  sat  watch 
ing  intently  for  the  answering  signals.  Then  he 
leaned  over  lower  and  wrote  with  delight. 

The  message  from  Earth  to  Mars  read:  "The 
Earth  greets  Mars  and  hopes  their  bonds  of  friend 
ship  may  grow  as  the  system  of  inter-communica 
tion  progresses." 

The  answer  returned  was:  "Your  message  re 
ceived  and  understood.  All  hail  the  day  of  im 
proved  inter-planetary  communication.  Mars  sends 
the  Earth  his  best  wishes." 

The  gap  had  been  spanned.  Nearly  everything 
was  now  possible.  Some  of  the  more  enthusiastic 
of  the  newspaper  editors  began  to  predict  that  the 
time  was  not  far  distant  when  a  union  of  the  plan 
ets  of  the  solar  system  would  be  formed. 

The  inter-communication  was  kept  up  with  short 
intermissions  and  in  the  course  of  the  next  few 
days  the  following  additional  information  had  been 
gleaned  about  Mars  and  his  inhabitants,  much  of 
the  information  collected  corroborating  statements 
that  had  for  years  been  made  by  eminent  astrono 
mers: 

"Mars  feels  like  the  Earth's  grandfather  for  the 
reason  that  he  is  several  million  years  older.  Qi- 
matic  conditions  being  much  more  favorable  than 
ours,  the  people  live  to  ten  fold  the  ages  of  the 
people  of  the  Earth.  -  Their  ability  to  fly  has  a  dual 
explanation,  desire  and  the  comparative  lightness 

165 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

of  their  bodies.  The  difference  in  weight  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  on  Mars  the  force  of  gravity  is  about 
two-thirds  what  it  is  here. 

"The  Martians  are  giants  in  stature  and  people 
of  great  mentality,  in  consequence  of  which  they 
have  made  advances  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  which 
have  not  yet  even  been  dreamed  of  on  earth.  Our 
people  expect  to  profit  largely  in  consequence  of 
inter-communication  and  to  make  advances  that  by 
the  slow  progress  of  evolution  would  take  thou 
sands  of  years.  So  it  is  seen  that  inter-communi 
cation  has  possibilities  so  vast  they  are  on  the  spur 
of  the  moment  difficult  of  comprehension.  As  a 
worker,  when  it  is  necessary,  the  Martian  excels, 
his  strength  being  enormous  and  his  endurance  al 
most  past  belief.  As  nearly  as  can  be  estimated 
now  one  Martian  is  equal  in  strength  to  nine  of  our 
men.  The  Martian  has  a  prolonged  nose  and  arms 
of  unusual  length,  according  to  Earth's  standard. 
As  a  result  of  the  rarefied  air  of  Mars  the  people 
have  large  lungs  and  chests.  They  require  gills, 
like  those  of  a  fish,  so  that  great  volumes  of  air  can 
with  ease  be  taken  into  the  chest.  In  a  field  day 
meet  the  inhabitants  of  Earth  would  look  like 
pygmies  beside  those  of  Mars." 

The  foregoing,  I  will  explain,  are  excerpts  from 
the  account  Raper  wrote  of  the  tests.  As  soon  as 
further  communication  is  had  along  certain  lines 
that  have  been  somewhat  difficult  to  reach,  a  book 
is  to  be  published,  giving  an  account  of  the  informa 
tion  collected.  It  would  be  superfluous  to  state  that 

166 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

this  will  be  the  volume  of  the  year. 

On  returning  to  our  hotel,  my  newspaper  friend 
and  I  had  a  most  delightful  surprise.  Elmer  D. 
Abbott,  manager  of  the  Greater  New  York  Fuel 
Gas  Co.,  dropped  into  the  lobby.  He  espied  us, 
and  rushing  over  to  where  we  sat,  almost  wrung 
our  hands  off  before  we  knew  who  he  was.  What 
a  reunion.  We  three  had  not  been  together  since 
we  left  college,  where  for  four  years  we  had  been 
like  brothers. 

"How  long  are  you  here  for?"  Abbott  inquired, 
turning  first  to  one  and  then  to  the  other  of  us. 

"Really,  I  cannot  say/'  Raper  replied.  "You 
know  my  time  is  not  my  own.  I  don't  know  where 
I  am  to  be  sent.  Orders  will  probably  come  in  this 
afternoon." 

"How  about  you,  Young?"    Abbott  asked. 

"I  may  be  here  several  days,"  I  answered,  think 
ing,  of  course,  of  the  direct  object  of  my  visit  east. 

"Raper,  you  must  stay  over  tonight,  anyhow," 
Abbott  insisted.  "I  want  both  of  you  to  go  with 
me  to  the  bal  masque  at  the  Colonial  Club.  Pretty 
decorations,  fine  music,  great  bevy  of  beauties, 
moonlight  promenades,  feast  fit  for  Lucullus — 
come,  you  must ;  I  will  not  take  no  for  an  answer." 

He  wouldn't  and  we  went.  Truly  Fate  often 
guides  one's  footsteps.  With  Cupid  for  a  partner 
he  sometimes  is  hard  on  hearts. 


167 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 
AT  THE  BALL. 

A  thousand  hearts  beat  happily;  and  when 
Music  arose  with  its  voluptuous  swell, 

Soft  eyes  look'd  love  to  eyes  which  spoke  again, 
And  all  went  merry  as  a  marriage  bell. 

— Byron. 

A  perfect  night,  made  so  by  a  clear  sky,  millions 
of  twinkling  stars,  a  full  moon,  air,  redolent  with 
nature's  sweetest  perfumes,  and  the  gentlest  of 
breezes,  helped  to  make  the  terpsichorean  event  at 
the  Colonial  Club  one  of  the  largest  pearls  in  the 
casket  of  my  memory.  There  is  another  reason 
as  you  will  discover  below.  Divine  is  the  one  word 
to  describe  that  night,  a  night  of  fair  women,  brave 
men,  Strauss  waltzes,  tete-a-tetes  on  the  wide,  low, 
verandas,  with  old  Neptune  just  barely  stirring  the 
water,  the  gentle  lapping  of  which  on  the  sandy 
beach  was  as  soothing  as  if  it  were  Nature's  lullaby 

Inside,  the  club,  a  symphony  of  white  walls  and 
plain  but  elegant  woodwork,  with  jardinieres  filled 
with  roses,  with  chairs,  Davenports  and  cozy  cor 
ners  to  match  the  style  of  architecture  and  with  a 
soft  glow  of  light  over  all,  was  filled  with  merry, 
rroving  groups,  in  colors  and  changes  kaleidoscopic. 
Gay  laughter,  badinage  and  persiflage  commingled 
formed  a  cheering  accompaniment  to  the  strings, 

168 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

reeds  and  brasses  of  the  orchestra,  broken  now 
and  then  by  a  roll  on  the  kettle  drums.  The  shrill 
oboe,  the  soft  flute,  the  hoarse  bassoon,  the  ringing 
cornet  and  the  vibrant  strings,  all  melted  together 
into  a  flood  of  melody,  filling  the  hall,  and  dying 
away  in  the  moonlight,  stopped  for  a  few  minutes 
to  break  out  a  little  later  into  the  stirring  and  irre 
sistible  strains  of  a  waltz.  Pulses  were  quickened, 
engagements  hurriedly  met  and  the  floor  filled  with 
a  music  mad  throng  of  graceful  dancers,  who  glided 
over  the  floor  with  such  ease  that  they  seemed  to  be 
floating  in  space. 

Prince  Charming  and  a  demure  shepherdess, 
Napoleon  and  ,a  Spanish  peasant  girl  of  the 
Andalusian  type,  Frederick  the  Great  and  Queen 
Isabella,  George  Washington  and  Martha  Wash 
ington,  this  must  have  happened  by  collusion, 
Romeo  and  Portia,  and  Faust  and  a  fairy  princess, 
formed  momentarily  the  foreground  of  the  brilliant 
picture  before  a  trio,  composed  of  Abbott,  Raper 
and  myself.  We  stood  at  the  south  end  of  the  hall, 
looking  on  and  trying  to  figure  out  acquaintances. 
As  for  myself  no  algebraic  problem  ever  received 
more  unfailing  attention  than  my  effort  to  pick  out 
Alice  from  among  that  moving  host.  She  was 
dancing,  of  course,  because  she  was  passionately 
fond  of  it.  Raper,  who  had  a  round  face  and  a 
pudgy  figure,  was  dignified  and  possibly  stately  as 
Chief  Justice  Fuller.  Abbott,  tall,  athletic  and 
virile  in  thought  and  deed,  was  grandiloquent,  that 
is  he  was  when  he  talked,  as  Col.  Mulberry  Sellers. 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

As  for  myself  I  took  at  the  costumers  that  which  at 
once  caught  my  fancy  and  burst  into  the  limelight 
of  that  night  as  Benjamin  Franklin.  The  music 
stopped  and  the  dancers  promenaded  to  where 
fancy  prompted,  most  of  them  going  to  the  piazza, 
a  few  only  remaining  in  the  club,  where  seats  soon 
held  groups,  divided  into  twos,  threes,  and  on  up. 

Raper,  a  man  of  keen  wit  and  infinite  jest,  was 
soon  talking  to  a  statuesque  beauty,  impersonating 
Queen  Bess,  and  finally  walked  away  with  her,  dis 
appearing  in  the  mazes  made  by  the  various  groups. 
Abbott,  a  moment  later,  fancying  he  saw  some 
one  he  knew,  flew  across  the  floor  and  left  me 
alone  in  my  glory.  A  female  figure  flitted  in  front 
of  me.  There  was  something  familiar  about  her  and 
my  eyes  followed  to  where  she  joined  two  young 
ladies  and  two  men.  She  wore  a  gown  of  white, 
with  a  lot  of  those  dainty  lace  creations  about  low 
neck  and  wrists  no  man  can  describe  without  show 
ing  his  ignorance  of  fasjiion  and  dressmaking.  She 
was  evidently  The  Summer  Girl.  One  companion 
was  a  Norwegian  belle,  with  high  peaked  cap,  one 
Euterpe,  one  Prince  Charming  and  the  last  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh.  My  heart  fluttered  when  the  sum 
mer  girl  bounded  away  and  again  came  in  my 
direction.  Impulsively  I  started  toward  her.  I  got 
directly  in  her  path,  pretended  not  to  see  her  and 
then  turned  suddenly  and  in  a  voice  I  just  as  im 
pulsively  disguised,  asked:  "How  many  conquests 
tonight  entered  upon  the  ledger  of  the  summer 
girl?" 

170 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

"What  a  question,"  she  replied,  "for  one  of  the 
wisdom  of  Franklin." 

It  was  Alice.  I  was  sure  of  her  voice.  There 
could  be  no  mistake.  Continuing  the  disguise  of 
my  voice,  I  ventured:  "Franklin  once  was  young 
and  had  a  heart  as  susceptible  as  anyone's.  If 
the  summer  girl  had  existed  then,  who  knows,  he 
might  have  proven  an  easy  captive." 

"Let  me  get  you  a  glass  of  water,  some  lemonade 
or  some  punch." 

"  'If  you  would  have  it  done,  go.  If  not  send/  " 
she  quoted.  "Water  please." 

"Come,"  I  said,  and  we  walked  away  together,  I 
on  one  of  the  happiest  missions  of  my  life. 

When  I  suggested  that  we  go  out  on  the  piazza, 
the  universal  Mecca  that  night,  she  demurred,  say 
ing  that  her  friends  would  be  looking  for  her. 

Then,  fearing  that  I  would  lose  her,  I  hurriedly 
added,  "I  know  you.  Your  home  is  in  Fratersurb." 

"Why,  have  we  a  distinctive  look?"  she  inquired, 
plainly  giving  expression  to  the  amazement  she  felt. 
"How  do  you  know  me?  I  thought  that  but  for 
four  persons  I  was  among  perfect  strangers.  You 
must  be  an  adept  in  telepathy.  Now  go  ahead  and 
tell  me  more.  What  is  my  name?" 

"Alice  Meredith,"  I  promptly  replied. 

"You  interest  me,"  she  continued.  "What  new 
mental  freak  is  this?  You  talk  as  if  you  had  come 
from  some  secret  bounded  place  in  India.  Have 
you  been  there?" 

"Yes." 

171 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

"Recently?" 

"Yes." 

"Tell  me  about  it." 

"My  visit  was  very  brief." 

"Were  you  alone  ?" 

"No,  with  Father  Gladstone's  party." 

"Oh,  you  are  a  newspaper  man.  Did  you  meet 
Robert  Young?  He  is  from  Fratersurb." 

"Young?  Young?  O,  yes,  I  remember,  he  is 
the  fellow  that  saved  the  life  of  the  Titu's  daugh 
ter  in  Peking." 

"Yes,  I  read  about  it  this  morning." 

The  music  had  started  up  again.  It  was  another 
waltz.  "This  is  my  dance,"  I  insisted  as  I  arose 
and  led  her  away.  She  appeared  puzzled  and  did 
not  resist.  That  waltz!  It  marks  the  very  apex 
of  my  dance  career.  The  murk  that  had  been  hang 
ing  over  me  was  lifting.  There  was  a  burst  of 
sunshine;  I  was  dancing  on  to  paradise.  Dances, 
however,  under  such  circumstances,  have  a  rude 
way  of  ending  and  putting  finis  to  dreams. 

She  did  not  object  when  I  again  suggested  the 
piazza. 

"That  is  a  waltz  I  shall  never  forget,"  I  de 
clared  as  we  sat  down.  She  arose  in  astonishment, 
looked  at  me  more  carefully  and  exclaimed:  "It 
is  you,  Robert  Young.  Why  could  I  not  guess 
sooner  ?"  and  she  burst  into  tears.  I  had  neglected 
to  keep  up  my  incognito. 

Why  is  it  that  such  incidents  now  and  then  have 
to  occur  in  public  places? 

172 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

"Don't,"  I  pleaded,  "I  would  not  for  all  the 
world  be  the  cause  of  a  single  tear.  What  have  you 
to  cry  about?" 

"It  is  one  way  to  get  relief.  I  believed  you  false 
until  I  read  the  Fratersurb  paper  this  morning." 

My  heart  went  out  in  gratitude  to  Raper.  He 
had  kept  part  of  his  promise. 

Who  is  going  to  tell  about  the  long,  low  con 
versation  we  carried  on  out  there,  sitting  with  a 
canopy  of  stars  above  and  the  man  in  the  moon 
looking  down  with  contentment  plainly  evident  on 
his  face.  All  I  can  say  is  that  Hymen  is  peering 
from  around  the  corner,  looking  as  if  it  were  about 
time  for  him  to  walk  away  arm  in  arm  with  Cupid. 


173 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
A  RETROSPECT. 


Sin  hath  broke  the  world's  sweet  peace — unstrung 
Th'  harmonious  chords  to  which  the  angels  sung. 

— Dana's    Buccaneer. 


At  the  breakfast  table  the  next  morning  the  con 
versation  turned  on  the  absence,  except  sporadical 
ly,  of  crime  in  these  latter  days.  It  was  brought  up 
as  the  result  of  an  order  received  by  Raper  to  make 
a  comparison  between  the  past  and  the  present, 
the  object  being  to  show  in  as  striking  a  manner 
as  possible  the  beneficent  effects  of  Brotherhood 
rule. 

We  had  been  joined  at  the  table  by  Thomas  J. 
Creager,  one  of  the  Brotherhood  idealists.  With 
the  uprooting,  tree  and  branches,  of  greed,  the 
world's  most  perplexing  social  problems  had  been 
solved.  It  had  been  contended  initially  by  Thomas 
L.  Gaynor,  Robert  D.  Brain  and  Stewart  L.  Tatum 
that,  inasmuch  as  it  was  generally  recognized  that 
money  was  the  root  of  all  evil,  it  was  unquestion 
ably  the  part  of  wisdom  to  put  limitations  on  the 
use  and  power  of  money  for  the  purpose  of  either 
curbing  or  suppressing  the  evil.  These  three  were 
among  the  first  of  those  that  advocated  zealously 

174 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

and  unflinchingly  in  the  earliest  days  of  Brother 
hood,  not  a  division  of  wealth  as  proposed  by  many 
Socialists  of  those  days,  but  instead  the  sane  con 
trol  of  wealth  for  the  benefit  of  humanity. 

Greed  in  the  past,  it  is  now  conclusively  proved, 
was  directly  or  indirectly  responsible  for  nine- 
tenths  of  all  crime. 

"Do  you  realize,"  said  Raper  in  opening  the 
symposium,  "the  extent  of  crime,  prior  to  the  es 
tablishment  of  Brotherhood  tenets?  Let  me  give 
you  some  information  that  strikes  me  as  appalling. 
We  will  take  the  record  of  one  city  alone  for  study 
and  comparison.  That  city  is  Chicago,  probably 
no  worse  and  certainly  no  better  than  other  cities 
of  similar  population  two  centuries  ago.  I  have 
selected  Chicago  simply  because,  by  good  fortune, 
records  of  that  metropolis  were  easily  obtainable. 
These  figures,  according  to  my  data,  were  carefully 
verified  at  the  time  they  were  made,  that  is  in  the 
year  1906. 

"Here  is  the  awful  record  that  will  daze  the 
students  of  sociology  who,  in  the  investigations  and 
studies  of  these  days,  have  forgotten  to  a  great  ex 
tent  the  changes  that  have  taken  place: 

"Disturbance  in  streets) — every  six  seconds. 

"Arrests  made — every  seven  and  one-half  min 
utes. 

"Arrest  for  drunkenness — every  fifteeen  minutes. 

"Larceny  committed — every  twenty  minutes. 

"Assault  and  battery — every  27  minutes. 

"Burglary — every  three  hours. 

175 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

"A  hold-up — every  six  hours. 

"Suicides — two  every  day. 

"Murders — one  every  day. 

"Such  a  record  could  not  last  forever.  Every 
great  reform  has  always  BEEN  PRECEDED  BY 
SOME  GREAT  EXCESS." 

"That  was  the  time,"  Brain  pointed  out,  "that 
1 ,000  men  in  the  United  States  possessed  more 
wealth  than  the  other  86,000,000  put  together.  Re 
sult,  a  new  form  of  feudalism.  It  was  a  similar 
condition  that  resulted  in  the  disintegration  of  the 
Roman  empire." 

"In  those  days,"  Abbott  remarked,  "it  was  spe 
ciously  argued  that  piling  up  wealth  meant  reward 
of  industry.  True,  no  one  wanted  to  see  the  lazy 
placed  on  a  commercial  parity  with  the  active. 
Still,  no  difference  how  energetic  a  man  might  have 
been,  it  was  impossible  in  those  days  for  him  to 
amass  a  great  fortune  without  monopolizing  an  op 
portunity  that  should  have  belonged  to  many.  If 
the  inordinately  wealthy  had  been  content  to  let 
well  enough  alone  and  if  they  had  not  foraged  for 
further  monopolization  of  the  country's  resources 
through  the  agency  of  special  privileges,  bribery 
and  purchased  legislation,  the  advent  of  Brother 
hood  government  would  have  been  delayed  some 
years,  but  ultimately  would  have  come." 

"Right  you  are,"  I  admitted.  "Every  fresh  ag 
gression  in  those  days  of  monopoly  simply  gave 
added  impetus  to  the  new  idea  that  was  slowly 
germinating.  If  the  men,  responsible  for  the  tin- 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

natural  and  reprehensible  features  of  commercial 
and  industrial  life  in  those  days,  had  not  been 
blind  to  everything  but  making  money,  conditions 
would  not  have,  been  so  bad.  All  honor  to  the  men 
of  wealth  who  in  those  days  tried  in  vain  to  stem 
the  tide,  which  finally  engulfed  them.  Those  men, 
when  the  crucial  moment  came,  were  active  in  the 
promulgation  of  plans  and  policies  for  a  better 
method  of  living.  They  had  in  the  past  been  out 
numbered  by  those  who  made  everything  else 
subordinate  to  the  accumulation  of  wealth,  no  mat 
ter  how." 

"It  is  said,''  interrupted  Raper,  "that  a  crystal 
lization  of  the  dominant  idea  those  days  was  found 
among  other  things  in  what  was  called  the  anti- 
toxine  trust,  an  organization  dominated  by  greed, 
that  increased  to  an  outrageous  price  the  cost  of  a 
medical  necessity  for  children,  afflicted  with  cer 
tain  contagious  and  often  fatal  diseases." 

"If  it  is  your  purpose  to  discuss  trusts  and  their 
nefarious  operations  it  is  possible  for  this  sym 
posium  to  continue  for  weeks  to  come,"  Creager 
offered.  "It  is  unfortunate  that  the  greed  for  gain 
grew  until  it  affected  rich  and  poor  alike,  finally 
tainting  the  labor  unions,  which  had  been  organized 
for  the  elevation  of  the  toilers.  It  came  in  the 
worst  shape  among  the  latter  when  funeral  pro 
cessions  were  held  up  by  organized  strikers.  True, 
ii  may  be  argued  that  the  men  had  a  just  grievance, 
but  it  certainly  was  unfortunate  that  an  expression 
of  their  objections  to  prevalent  conditions  had  to 

177 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

come  in  the  burial  of  the  dead." 

"What  an  interesting  study  mankind  is,"  Abbott 
exclaimed  as  he  ordered  his  second  cup  of  coffee. 
"First  individual  struggle  for  supremacy,  then 
tribal  feuds  and  rule,  then  monarchies,  absolute  and 
limited,  then  republics  and  finally  Brotherhood. 
It  is  gratifying  to  realize  that  the  world  has  been 
growing  better  constantly.  What  next?  What 
little  beginnings  some  great  movements  have.  At 
first  they  are  so  insignificant  they  barely  attract 
notice.  For  instance,  take  the  trailing  of  women's 
skirts  through  the  dirty,  germ-infected  streets. 
You  know  I  am  a  crank  on  the  subject  of  sanita 
tion.  In  looking  backward  the  other  day,  I  found 
this  record  of  date  of  May  5,  1906:  The  town 
council  of  Nordhausen,  Prussian  Saxony,  has  is 
sued  an  ordinance,  prohibiting  women  from  allow 
ing  the  trains  of  their  dresses  to  drag  in  the  streets 
as  a  measure  for  the  protection  of  health  and  for 
the  prevention  of  tainting  the  air  with  dust.  The 
penalty  for  infraction  of  this  ordinance  is  a  fine 
of  $7.50.  The  police  department  of  Nordhausen 
had  previously  forbidden  women  to  allow  their 
dress  trains  to  sweep  the  sidewalks  of  the  Friedrich 
Wilhelm  platz  and  the  adjacent  streets.  The  coun 
cil  now  extends  the  regulation  to  the  entire  city.' 
A  multiplicity  of  causes  led  up  to  the  establishment 
of  the  Brotherhood.  Here  is  a  sample  of  one  of 
them.  This  is  from  a  file  of  a  New  York  City 
newspaper:  'Rent  riots  are  feared  because  of 
wholesale  evictions  on  the  East  side.  One  thoti- 

178 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

sand  more  families  are  threatened  with  eviction  be 
cause  they  are  unable  to  pay  increased  rent.  Other 
pdges  were  not  so  lenient  as  Judge  Fitzgerald  and 
the  streets  were  filled  with  the  belongings  and  chil 
dren  of  the  evicted  families.  Many  of  the  men  at 
tempted  to  assault  the  evicting  officers  and  an  extra 
force  of  police  was  necessary.'  But  after  all  what 
were  these  to  the  evictions  of  thousands  of  poverty- 
stricken  people  in  Ireland?  In  the  worst  of  the 
clays  of  rule  by  special  privileges,  every  man  ought 
to  have  been  entitled  to  decent  shelter  and  food." 

"Do  you  know,"  I  said,  "that  when  Roosevelt, 
one  of  the  presidents  under  the  old  regime,  tried  to 
put  a  crimp  in  the  operations  of  some  of  the  mo 
nopolies,  thereby  taking  official  cognizance  of  their 
misdeeds,  by  insisting  on  the  regulation  by  the  gov 
ernment  of  inter-state  commerce  and  transporta 
tion,  he  was  hitting  a  blow  at  a  form  of  greed  that 
was  thousands  of  years  old  and  had  been  al 
lowed  to  wax  fat  simply  because  the  people's  ser 
vants  had  failed  to  do  their  sworn  duty?  The  old 
Babylonian  king,  Hammural,  who  reigned  about 
2,250  years  Before  Christ,  was  a  believer  in  govern 
ment  rate  regulation.  Here  are  the  laws  on  the 
subject  that  were  on  his  statute  books:  'If  a  man 

hire  a  i ,  its  hire  is  3  S.  E.  silver  per  day  as 

its  hire.  If  a  man  hire  a  sailboat,  he  shall  pay  2^2 
S.  E.  silver  per  day  as  its  hire.  If  a  man  hire  a 
boat  of  60  Gur  (tonnage),  he  shall  pay  1-6  of  a 
shekel  of  silver  as  its  hire  per  day.'  Even  back  in 
those  days  the  same  old  problems  the  Brotherhood 

179 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

has  solved  were  constantly  bobbing  up.  For  proof 
here  is  the  following  from  the  prologue  of  that 
king's  code:  'I  was  called  to  cause  justice  to  pre 
vail  in  the  land,  to  destroy  the  wicked  and  the  evil, 
to  prevent  the  strong  from  oppressing  the  weak, 
to  go  forth  like  the  Sun  over  the  Black  Head  race, 
to  enlighten  the  land  and  to  further  the  welfare  of 
the  people,  who  made  justice  prevail  and  who  ruled 
the  race  with  right/  " 

Abbott  had  an  engagement  to  fill  and  the  discus 
sion  came  to  an  end.  As  he  arose  Raper  said  that 
he  had  a  story  of  the  past,  one  illustrating  some  of 
the  crudities  of  the  times,  that  he  wanted  us  to 
read.  "It  is  a  human  interest  story,"  he  said,  "and 
will,  I  think,  prove  profitable/' 

I  settled  down  to  "kill  time."  Alice  had  given 
me  permission  to  call  that  night  at  the  Spangler 
home.  Work  under  such  circumstances  was  out  of 
the  question. 


180 


CHAPTER  XXV. 
WHEN  IN  DOUBT  DON'T. 

Our  doubts  are  traitors, 

And  make  us   lose  the  good  we   oft  might  win, 
By  fearing  to  attempt. 

— Shakespeare. 

As  I  ascended  the  steps,  leading  to  the  Spangler 
home,  the  strains  of  Beethoven's  Moonlight  Sonata, 
in  turn  plaintive,  soulful  and  mellowing,  came 
through  the  open  door.  Entranced  I  paused  on  the 
threshold  and  listened.  Alice  was  at  the  piano.  I 
recognized  her  touch  and  knew  that  the  composi 
tion  was  a  favorite  with  her.  As  she  struck  the 
last  bars  I  made  my  advent,  diffident,  yet  optimistic, 
believing  that  Alice's  "No"  might,  with  the  use  of  a 
line  of  argument  I  had  decided  upon,  be  made  to 
spell  "Yes."  I  placed  great  reliance  in  the  old  so 
called  axiom  that  a  woman's  "No"  means  "Yes." 

The  soft  light  of  the  room,  the  perfume  of  rare 
exotics  and  Alice's  bewildering  beauty  were  intoxi 
cating.  Clad  in  a  clinging  gown  of  black,  having 
misty  ends  of  lace  that  emphasized  her  statuesque 
beauty,  she  came  forward  to  greet  me.  Her  eyes 
were  alive  with  light  and  her  satin-like  cheeks  were 
aglow  with  health. 

"You  play  beautifully,"  I  remarked  to  open  the 

181 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

conversation.  "I  could  almost  fancy  as  I  stood  and 
listened  that  I  was  under  the  spell  of  moonlight 
and  in  a  land  of  enchantment." 

"I  am  glad  you  like  it,"  she  answered.  "Nothing 
prettier  was  ever  written.  Notwithstanding  all  the 
music  the  present  has  given  us,  we  still  delight  to 
go  back  to  the  old  masters.  Nothing  better  will 
ever  be  written." 

"Music  is  a  good  introduction  to  the  subject  I 
have  come  here  tonight  to  discuss,"  I  said  some 
what  precipitately.  "Alice,  why  is  it  that  you  re 
fuse  me  when  you  have  given  confession  of  love 
for  confession  of  love?  I  feel  that  you  must  have 
some  exaggerated  idea  of  duty." 

"You  know,"  she  replied,  "that  I,  in  fact  all  of 
us,  have  been  taught  from  our  first  days  of  intelli 
gence  certain  ideals,  the  object  being  to  strengthen 
Brotherhood  rule.  I  have  certain  convictions,  re 
garding  marriage,  that  I  have  not  been  able  to 
overcome.  I  again  confess  that  I  love  you  and 
that  you  are  the  one  man  of  millions  that  I  would 
marry  if  there  did  not  seem  to  be  an  apparently  in 
surmountable  obstacle  in  the  way.  I  would  not  be 
true  to  myself  if  I  were  to  answer  Yes." 

"But  isn't  it  possible  that  you  are  mistaken? 
Sometimes  we  take  the  wrong  view  of  a  subject 
because  we  see  it  in  one  light  only.  When  it  is 
looked  at  from  a  different  viewpoint  we  readily 
see  that  first  impressions  were  wrong." 

"It  seems  superfluous  for  me  to  say  that  I  have, 
I  think,  looked  at  the  subject  of  marriage  from 

182 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

every  possible  point  of  view  and  that  I  still  have 
the  same  conviction.  If  it  is  consolation  for  you  to 
know  that  my  answer  is  painful  to  me,  then  you 
have  it.  Duty  first  always  is  what  I  have  been 
taught  from  childhood." 

"But,  Alice/'  I  expostulated,  "isn't  it  possible 
that  you  are  wrong  in  your  conclusions  and  that 
after  all  you  are  taking  a  too  serious  view  of  the 
matter  ?  It  is  the  part  of  wisdom  for  one  to  change 
her  mind  when  new  information  is  furnished  and 
new  arguments  are  adduced.  I  will  try  to  grow  as 
eloquent  as  Demosthenes  himself  and  if  necessary 
will  stand  for  hours  in  the  face  of  a  tempest  with 
a  stone  in  my  mouth,  in  hope  of  converting  you. 
Let  us  be  perfectly  frank  with  each  other.  If  you 
will  never  marry,  I  will  go  into  celibacy.  If  you 
become  an  old  maid,  I'll  become  an  old  bachelor. 
I  fancy  you  are  sacrificing  your  life  to  a  fetich. 
Just  fancy  in  years  to  come  the  young  girls  point 
ing  you  out  as  the  old  maid,  Miss  Meredith." 

Alice  shuddered  as  I  purposely  repeated  the 
term,  old  maid.  I  felt  I  had  gained  an  advantage 
and  I  continued  with  new  hope:  "You  are  young, 
full  o'f  life  and  gay.  Youth  cannot  last  forever. 
Fancy  your  desolation  in  days  to  come  when  old 
age  sets  his  seal  on  you.  When  you  reach  that 
stage  of  life,  will  you  then  be  able  to  say  that  you 
made  the  wise  decision  tonight  in  repeating  your 
'No  ?'  Alice,  not  only  your  present  but  your  future 
is  wrapped  up  in  your  answer.  You  remember  the 
words  of  the  librettist,  'When  love  is  young  and 

183 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

life  is  gay,'  etc.  Take  time  about  this  matter.  Do 
not  say  'No.'  Think  the  matter  over  more.  There 
certainly  is  a  loop  hole  from  which  your  conscience 
can  with  good  grace  escape." 

Alice  was  visibly  affected.  She  bowed  her  head 
and  sat  absorbed  in  thought.  Finally  she  an 
swered  :  "I  will  do  as  you  suggest." 

"My  answer — when?"  I  asked. 

"Come  to  my  home  in  Fratersurb,  two  weeks 
from  tonight,"  she  replied.  I  went  away  with  step 
so  light  I  scarcely  seemed  to  touch  the  ground. 
Two  weeks  to  wait!  I  felt  I  had  won.  Calling  a 
motor  car  I  sailed  back  to  my  hotel.  I  was  so  ab 
sorbed  in  my  future  that  I  was  not  aware  we  had 
reached  the  hotel  until  the  driver,  bowing  cour 
teously,  exclaimed,  "Your  hotel,  sir." 

Raper,  who  was  an  all  nighter  when  the  occasion 
required  it,  was  in  the  lobby  when  I  entered,  the 
center  of  a  group  that  he  was  entertaining  with  an 
account,  graphic  of  course,  of  our  experiences  on 
the  lost  and  recovered  Atlantis. 

"Old  man,"  he  said,  joining  me  a  little  later,  "you 
are  looking  fine  tonight.  Believe  you  have  had 
some  kind  of  a  bracing  tonic.  Aha,  I  have  it,  the 
girl  has  said  'Yes/  Isn't  that  right?" 

"Not  yet,"  I  was  compelled  to  answer,  "but  the 
outlook  is  rosy." 

"Good,"  he  said.  "You  deserve  her.  Two  weeks 
to  wait.  Well  then,  I  am  going  to  bore  you  tomor 
row  with  Elmer  Paine's  story.  The  main  interest 
in  it  lies  in  its  description  of  a  condition  of  the  past 

184 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

almost  unbelievable  today.  The  story  is  founded 
on  facts  that  were  carefully  verified  by  Paine. 
Come  around  to  my  room  tomorrow  morning  about 
9  and  prepare  to  be  victimized." 

"All  right,"  I  assented.  "I  have  nothing  to  do 
for  a  day  or  two,  anyhow,  but  to  watch  the  clock 
to  see  when  I  am  due  to  make  certain  calls  on  72nd 
street." 

That  is  how  I  happened  to  listen  to  Paine's  story. 
Next  morning  at  the  appointed  hour  I  was  in 
Raper's  room.  The  scribe  was  waiting  for.  orders 
and  like  me  was  "killing  time." 

Paine  was  one  of  the  best  press  association  men 
in  the  country.  He  was  studiously  exact  and 
knowledge  of  that  fact  made  my  interest  from  a 
sociological  standpoint  keen  in  the  story,  which  was 
later  given  wide  publication  in  the  Monthly  Re 
view.  This  is  the  story  as  Raper  read  it  to  me. 


185 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

i 

THE  SUPREMACY  OF  THE  LAW. 

We  must  not  make  a  scarecrow  of  the  law, 
Setting  it  up  to  fear  the  birds  of  prey, 
And  let  it  keep   one  shape,   till  custom  make  it 
Their  perch  and  not  their  terror. 

— Shakespeare. 

It  was  a  cool,  pleasant  day  of  early  Spring.  The 
robins  were  flitting  about  and  the  dandelions  were 
in  bloom.  The  crowd  at  the  Wingfield  baseball 
park  was  in  a  state  of  excitement.  The  score  was 
6  to  6  and  it  was  the  turn  of  the  Wingfield  Reds  at 
the  bat.  All  but  the  last  half  of  the  ninth  inning 
had  been  played.  The  Reds'  opponents  were  the 
renowned  Baltimore  Orioles.  Catcher  Bitts  singled 
and  then  stole  second.  Becker,  the  brawny  second 
baseman,  knocked  a  hot  liner  to  middle  field  and 
reached  first  while  Bitts  slid  to  third  and  was  pro 
nounced  safe.  Matthews  struck  out  while  Stenzel 
knocked  a  foul  tip  which  the  Orioles'  catcher  gob 
bled.  The  hopes  of  the  Wingfield  fans,  and  there 
were  4,000  of  them  on  the  grounds,  fell.  Bilkins 
went  to  the  bat,  Bilkins  the  most  popular  member 
of  the  home  nine.  Bilkins  had  just  turned  22.  He 
was  a  moulder  and  had  a  wife  and  two  boys,  twins. 
They  were  in  the  "bleachers"  to  see  the  game.  The 
twins  exclaimed  "There's  dad.  Mamma,  watch  dad," 

186 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

and  they  watched.  So  did  3,997  other  persons.  It 
was  a  critical  moment.  Wingfield  held  its  breath. 
"One  strike/'  called  the  umpire,  as  Bilkins  missed 
the  ball.  Then  "two  strikes"  and  Wingfield  grew 
sick  at  heart.  Bilkins  looked  at  his  wife  and  the 
twins,  spat  on  his  hands  and  gritted  his  teeth.  The 
next  throw  the  ball  was  driven  to  the  far  end  of 
the  left  field.  Bitts  and  Becker  both  scored  and  the 
champions  went  down  in  defeat  before  the  Wing- 
field  amateurs. 

Bilkins,  as  soon  as  he  reached  the  home  plate, 
was  lifted  off  his  feet  by  the  ecstatic  fans  who  car 
ried  him  on  their  shoulders. 

"Hurrah  for  Bilkins !"  the  crowd  roared  again 
and  again. 

Bilkins  looked  around  uneasily  until  he  saw  two 
little  boys  in  pinafores  and  their  mother  beside 
them.  The  mother  waved  her  handkerchief  and  the 
boys  threw  him  kisses.  The  cheers  of  the  crowd 
rang  in  Bilkins'  ears  for  days  afterward.  His 
pulses  had  been  thrilled  with  the  joy  of  leadership. 
***** 

The  devout  were  hurrying  home  from  church. 
"What,"  exclaimed  Mayor  Tolus  as  he  stepped  out 
of  The  Church  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  "Officer 
Charlie  Hollis  shot?  Horrible."  The  news  spread 
rapidly.  Little  by  little  the  atrocity  of  the  deed  be 
came  known.  People  gathered  in  knots  on  the 
streets  and  discussed  the  crime.  It  was  the  twelfth 
murder  in  Wingfield  in  18  months. 

Hollis  was  lured  by  Dick  Nixon,  a  bad  Kentucky 

187 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

negro,  to  the  latter's  room.  The  officer  went  out  of 
kindness.  The  negro  pleaded  that  his  clothing  was 
held  by  an  arrogant  landlord.  He  wanted  the  offi 
cer's  aid  to  recover  his  property. 

Blindly  Hollis  fell  into  the  trap. 

Six  weeks  before,  the  officer  had  arrested  Nixon. 
The  latter  had  sworn  revenge  but  the  officer  did  not 
know  it.  Early  Sunday  morning  Nixon  offered  to 
wager  a  quarter  he  would  kill  a  white  man  before 
noon.  No  sooner  was  Hollis  in  the  room  and  the 
door  closed  than  the  negro  turned  on  him  with  the 
fury  of  a  tiger  and  emptied  a  revolver  into  the  offi 
cer's  body.  Police  headquarters  were  but  half  a 
square  away.  Hollis,  faint  and  bleeding,  climbed 
the  stairs  leading  to  the  chief's  room.  There  he  lay 
down  on  a  table  and  died.  Nixon,  in  the  meanwhile, 
had  been  captured.  He  sat  by  but  seven  feet  away 
unconcernedly  chewing  tobacco  as  the  officer 
breathed  his  last. 

*         *         *         *         * 

A  few  hours  passed  and  the  tragedy  only  was 
discussed  by  the  45,000  people  of  Wingfield.  In 
dignation  grew  with  each  hour.  Wingfield  was  a 
city  of  factories.  Men  in  the  shops  could  not  work. 
They  were  restless,  so  great  was  their  rage.  Hollis 
was  a  veteran  policeman  and  was  liked  by  every 
body.  His  death  was  felt  to  be  a  personal  loss. 

In  the  foundry  at  the  wheel  works  Bilkins 
listened  to  the  talk. 

"He  ought  to  be  lynched,"  declared  one  big 
throated  man  with  a  grizzled  beard.  "If  he  ain't, 

188 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

he  will  get  off  as  easy  as  all  them  other  fellows 
did." 

"You  can't  hang  a  man  in  this  county,"  asserted 
another.  "You  don't  dast  do  it.  There  never  was 
a  man  hung  here." 

Bilkins  heard  them.     He  drank  in  every  word. 
That  night  as  he  held  a  hopeful  on  each  knee  he 
thought  of  poor  dead  Hollis  and  his  two  little  ones, 
and  instinctively  held  his  boys  closer. 
***** 

The  staff  of  The  Morning  Post  had  just  held  a 
consultation.  Stark,  the  court  man,  forgot  his  in 
structions  about  a  divorce  suit.  Wilkins  could  not 
remember  whether  the  city  editor  said  the  bride's 
name  was  Jones  or  Smith.  Titlow,  the  telegraph 
editor,  could  take  no  interest  in  the  pages  of 
"flimsy"  about  the  Russo-Japanese  war.  They 
were,  relatively,  unimportant.  Qark,  Feeney,  Reid, 
Warren,  and  other  members  of  the  local  force  could 
think  of  but  one  thing) — the  Hollis  murder.  It 
dominated  everybody  and  everything.  They  had 
heard  of  nothing  else  all  day.  Every  detail  of  the 
tragedy  had  been  told  over  again  and  again. 

In  his  private  office  Managing  Editor  Stumps  had 
a  caller.  He  was  Alfred  Fitzgerald,  the  noted  cor 
respondent  of  the  Cincinnati  Herald. 

"You  don't  mean  it?"  interrogated  Fitzgerald. 

"Yes,  I  do,"  declared  Stumps.  "Conditions  here 
are  shocking.  There  is  a  bitter  war  on  between 
the  common  pleas  judge  and  the  police  judge  As 
the  police  judge  has  final  jurisdiction  now,  owing  to 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

a  recent  Supreme  court  decision,  in  comparatively 
few  cases,  much  extra  work  is  thrown  on  the  com 
mon  pleas  judge.  One  it  seems,  tries  to  undo  the 
work  of  the  other.  This  very  negro  Nixon  was 
recently  released  by  the  common  pleas  judge  after 
the  police  judge  had  given  him  a  work  house  sen 
tence.  The  public  is  disgusted. 

"Apart  from  this,  murder  case  after  murder  case 
has  been  tried  and  in  every  instance  the  penalty  has 
been  light  and  incommensurate  with  the  crime. 
The  judge  blames  the  jury  and  the  public  blames 
the  judge  and  the  prosecutor." 

There  was  a  knock  at  the  door  and  Dr.  M.  C. 
McBride,  rector  of  the  Episcopal  church,  was  ad 
mitted.  After  introductions,  Mr.  Fitzgerald  turned 
to  the  rector  and  said:  "Wingfield  has  one  of  the 
leading  colleges  of  the  country,  one  of  the  finest 
libraries  in  the  state,  much  wealth  and  great  cul 
ture.  How  do  you  account  for  the  reign  of  terror 
here?" 

"The  question  is  easily  answered,"  replied  the 
rector.  "The  colored  population  here  is  about 
8,000.  A  part  of  the  colored  vote,  enough  to 
constitute  the  balance  of  power,  is  purchaseable. 
At  each  municipal  election  there  is  a  struggle  to 
get  that  vote  and  usually  the  party  and  the  can 
didates  that  get  it  win.  Money  is  dumped  into  the 
hands  of  the  precinct  'bosses'  who  in  turn  dole  it 
out  to  their  followers.  I  have  known  as  many  as 
200  negroes  to  be  corralled  at  one  place  on  elec 
tion  day.  One  by  one  they  were  sent  out  and  voted 

190 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

and  then  paid  a  dollar  each.  Sometimes  in  a  close 
campaign,  the  price  has  been  run  up  to  $5  per  head. 

"Don't  misunderstand  me.  I  am  not  arraigning 
the  entire  negro  population.  There  are  many  es 
timable  colored  people  here  who  deplore  the  con 
ditions  that  make  the  ballot  the  opposite  of  sacred. 
As  to  parties  each  is  guilty  and  guilty  not  only 
here  but  in  other  cities. 

"The  negro  saloons  here  are  located  on  a  thor 
oughfare,  opprobiously  denominated  the  Levee.  It 
is  a  ramshackle  row  of  buildings  in  the  heart  of  the 
city  with  the  railroad  yards  for  an  outlook.  Each 
one  of  the  saloonists  has  become  a  'boss'  with  a 
'pull.'  So  many  liberties  have  been  taken  without 
rebuke  that  not  only  the  'bosses'  but  the  habitues 
of  these  places  know  practically  no  restraint.  The 
human  dregs  of  the  state  have  settled  here.  One 
minister,  after  visiting  the  locality,  preached  a  ser 
mon  on  'Darkest  Wingfield.'  One  crime  after  an 
other  has  failed  to  arouse  the  good  citizenship  to 
the  hideousness  of  the  monster  harbored.  Twenty 
years  of  toleration  have  dulled  the  moral  sense  of 
the  community." 

Fitzgerald  saw  the  Levee.  It  was  worse,  he  de 
clared,  than  the  Chinese  quarter  in  San  Francisco. 
Buildings  of  9  or  10  rooms  each  had  double  that 
number  of  renters.  It  was  a  motley  population  of 
the  worst  elements  of  humanity.  A  policeman  told 
him  that  from  the  standpoint  of  revenue  these  mis 
erable,  shed-like  homes  of  vice,  poverty  and  crime 

191 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

were  among  the  most  profitable  in  the  city  and  that 

the  owners  were  whites. 

*      *      *      * 

Bilkins  went  down  town  that  night.  He  kissed 
his  wife  and  boys  good  bye  and  did  not  expect  to 
be  gone  long.  He  met  Bitts  and  Stenzel  and  they 
strolled  to  "The  Sanvidere."  It  was  a  hangout  for 
ball  players,  turf  lovers  and  pugilists.  It  was  re 
spectable  as  such  places  go.  They  sat  down  at  a 
table  and  had  some  beer. 

The  conversation  turned  on  the  Hollis  murder. 
They  could  talk  of  nothing  else.  They  felt  as  did 
everybody  else,  that  it  was  time  to  end  the  reign 
of  lawlessness. 

There  was  a  rush  from  the  outside  and  a  party 
of  shop  men  came  in  and  sat  down.  Bilkins  knew 
most  of  them. 

"Let's  lynch  the  nigger,"  suggested  a  wiry  tool 
maker.  There  was  not  a  dissenting  voice.  This 
sentiment  was  expressed  not  down  south,  but  in  an 
old  Abolition  stronghold ;  Wingfield  had  been  one 
of  the  main  stations  of  the  Underground  railway. 
It  had  seethed  with  patriotism  when  the  Civil  war 
broke  out  and  it — this  city  of  10,000  souls  then — 
had  sent  one  whole  regiment  to  the  front  to  fight 
for  the  union. 

"This  shootin'  and  murderin'  must  be  stopped," 
exclaimed  Dave  Elder.  He  was  an  old  machinist, 
gray  bearded  and  gray  haired,  but  as  robust  as  a 
Roman  warrior.  He  was  an  old  soldier  and  a 
widower  without  children.  "There's  got  to  be  some 
justice  in  this  town/'  he  added. 

192 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

"Turbana  is  going  to  send  down  a  box  of  sand," 
asserted  Bill  Smith,  a  boiler  maker.  "They  don't 
need  to,"  retorted  Elder.  Turbana  was  a  neighbor 
ing  town,  with  a  record  of  two  lynchings  in  six 
years. 

By  this  time  there  was  a  mob  of  2,000  people  at 
the  county  jail  where  Nixon  was  a  prisoner.  The 
mob  was  restless.  It  was  of  one  mind  but  lacked  a 
leader. 

At  Smith's  suggestion  the  crowd  in  the  saloon 
walked  down  to  the  jail.  They  were  prompted  by 
curiosity.  The  police  on  guard  were  powerless. 
They  were  pushed  aside  by  some  of  the  more  tur 
bulent  and  shoved  hither  and  thither.  The  blue 
coats  seemed  paralyzed  with  the  dread  of  impend 
ing  trouble.  In  a  measure  they  shared  the  feeling 
of  the  mob.  They  had  lost  a  brother  officer.  But 
a  few  hours  before  he  had  been  at  roll  call  with 
them.  They  feared  another  weak  kneed  jury 
They  had  no  right,  however,  to  speculate  nor  to 
moralize.  There  was  sworn  duty  before  them.  The 
mob  grew  bolder.  There  were  hoarse  yells  for 
Nixon.  Boldness  developed  into  violence.  A  part 
of  the  crowd  began  stoning  the  side  of  the  jail  in 
which  the  murderer  was  confined.  Every  window 
was  broken.  Mayor  Tolus,  apprehending  mob  vio 
lence,  had  called  on  the  militia  for  aid. 

The  soldiers  could  not  be  found.  At  the  end  of 
a  three  hours'  search  but  20  men  out  of  two  whole 
companies  could  be  gotten  together.  This  force 
was  deemed  wholly  insufficient  to  pit  against  a 

193 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

frenzied  mob  of  thousands — for  now  it  was  thou 
sands.  The  spirit  of  the  occasion  was  shown  in 
the  declaration  of  two  soldiers,  made  privately,  of 
course,  that  they  were  not  going  on  duty,  perhaps 
to  be  ordered  to  shoot  into  the  ranks  of  friends  or 
relatives. 

Sheriff  Mortzhan  had  a  closed  carriage  in  wait 
ing  at  a  stable  half  a  block  from  the  jail,  but  the 
mob  was  watchful.  They  would  not  let  him  spirit 
the  murderer  away. 

At  10.30  the  mob  had  dwindled  to  one-third  its 
original  size.  The  hooting  and  jeering  had  stopped 
and  the  mob  had  ceased  throwing  stones. 

The  authorities  began  to  feel  easier.  They  be 
lieved  the  crisis  had  passed.  Instead  it  was  the 
lull  before  the  storm. 

Fifteen  minutes  later,  a  body  of  organized  men 
marched  to  the  jail  with  the  precision  of  soldiers. 
On  an  adjoining  thoroughfare  they  were  taken  for 
guardsmen.  They  meant  business.  Their  faces 
were  set  and  their  hands  gripped  revolvers.  One 
company  was  equipped  with  an  iron  rail  taken  from 
the  railroad  yards.  There  was  no  unnecessary  talk 
ing.  Bent  on  law  breaking  the  crowd  was  quiet  and 
orderly. 

There  was  a  low  word  of  command  and  the  iron 
rail  was  swung  once,  twice,  thrice  against  the  jail 
door.  Down  it  fell  and  as  it  did  the  crowd  dashed 
for  the  opening.  Jailer  Stegory  ordered  them  back. 
He  might  as  well  have  tried  to  stop  a  storm. 

"The  keys,  Stegory,"  a  dozen  determined  men 

194 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

shouted  in  chorus.  There  were  half  a  dozen  guns 
pressed  against  Stegory's  forehead.  One  man 
pulled  the  keys  from  the  jailer's  pocket.  Down  the 
corridor  to  the  row  of  cells  the  mob  hurried. 
Nixon  was  in  front  at  the  door  of  the  revolving 
iron  cage.  The  other  prisoners  had  forced  him 
there.  They  did  not  want  the  mob  to  make  a  mis 
take.  The  cowering  wretch  was  dragged  through 
the  door  and  a  noose  thrown  over  his  head.  As  he 
was  pulled  down  the  corridor  he  was  kicked  and 
beaten  while  he  whined  for  mercy.  A  giant  in  the 
mob  hit  him  over  the  head  with  a  club,  and  tore  the 
flesh  open. 

Bleeding  and  senseless  Nixon  was  jerked  into  the 
jail  yard.  An  unknown  man  bent  over  him,  pressed 
a  revolver  to  his  breast  and  fired.  A  square  away 
was  a  telegraph  pole.  To  this  the  mob  hurried  with 
the  inanimate  form.  One  young  fellow  shinned  up 
the  pole,  threw  the  rope  over  a  cross  arm  and  a 
hundred  hands  pulled  the  wretch  up  in  the  air. 
Then  the  mob  riddled  the  body  with  bullets. 

Men  laughed  and  joked  with  one  another  over 
the  deed.  They  dispersed  and  went  home  to  sleep. 
***** 

A  party  of  twenty  went  home  together  that  night. 
When  they  were  away  from  the  crowd  they  pressed 
close  to  Bilkins.  "Bilkins  did  it,"  they  chorused, 
"Bilkins  had  the  nerve,"  they  said. 

Bilkins  was  not  glad.  He  did  not  exult  over  the 
praise.  Doubt  loomed  up  before  him,  and  remorse 
followed  doubt. 

195 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

Bilkins  hurried  home  to  his  wife  and  boys.  Bil- 
kins,  the  leader  of  the  mob — Bilkins,  who  had  been 
caught  up  by  the  spirit  of  the  crowd  and  swept  off 
his  feet.  Before  he  realized  it  he  had  become  one  of 
them  and  then  their  leader,  one  of  the  crowd  of  men 
wolves  ready  to  rend  a  human  being  to  pieces.  They 
had  swept  on  and  on.  Nothing  had  deterred  them. 
Their  work  was  finished  when  a  life  was  given  up 
for  a  life ;  and  Bilkins  had  headed  the  mob — Bilkins 
the  hero  of  the  diamond. 

*         *         *         *         * 

Mayor  Tolus  sat  in  his  office.  He  swung  around 
first  to  one  'pnone  and  then  to  the  other  on  his 
desk.  The  members  of  the  Board  of  Public  Safety 
the  Sheriff  and  the  County  Prosecuting  Attorney 
were  with  him.  "Hurry  me  ten  companies  of  sol 
diers,"  he  said  to  the  Governor,  fearing  threats  of 
further  violence. 

It  took  time  to  mobilize  the  soldiers  and  get 
them  to  Wingfield.  The  next  night  after  the  lynch 
ing  the  streets  were  filled  with  a  second  mob.  The 
cry,  ''Burn  the  Levee"  was  taken  up.  The  crowd 
surged  back  and  forth  in  the  streets:  it  was  wild, 
restless,  reckless.  The  disorderly  element  was 
conspicuous  in  it.  The  men  of  the  night  before 
were  missing.  An  hour  passed  and  there  were 
shots  on  the  Levee.  Volleys  followed.  Then  a 
tongue  of  flame  leaped  up.  The  threat  to  fire  the 
levee  had  been  carried  out. 

The  mob  would  not  let  the  fire  department  throw 
water  on  the  dives,  for  dives  they  were,  but  did 

196 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

help  the  fire  laddies  save  adjacent  property.  In 
the  morning  the  Levee  was  in  ruins  and  the  city 
was  practically  under  martial  law.  The  soldiers 

had  come  in  the  night. 

*         *         *         *         * 

At  first  there  was  a  feeling  among  citizens  gen 
erally  of  exultation — of  satisfaction,  because 
Nixon  was  dead  and  the  Levee  gone.  This  feeling 
later,  when  the  public  became  sober,  gave  way  to 
horror  and  disgust.  The  whole  country  burst  out 
in  indignation.  The  newspapers  were  laden  with 
editorials  excoriating  Wingfield,  Wingfield  where 
the  outrage  of  slavery  had  been  most  fiercely 
preached.  The  South  grew  satirical.  The  people 
of  Dresden,  Tenn.,  adopted  at  a  mass  meeting, 
resolutions,  urging  the  necessity  of  sending  mis 
sionaries  to  Wingfield. 

***** 

''Gentlemen  of  the  Grand  Jury,"  said  Prosecut 
ing  Attorney  McDrew,  "no  difference  what  our 
personal  sentiments  are  or  have  been  about  the 
riots,  there  is  a  duty  to  the  State  we  must  per 
form.  We  must  purge  ourselves  as  far  as  we  are 
able  of  the  outrage  of  mob  law.  No  community 
can  tolerate  it.  No  people  dare  let  it  obtain  a 
foothold.  Life,  property,  civilization  are  all  at 
stake.  With  a  mob  once  started  there  is  no 
telling  where,  if  uncurbed,  it  will  stop.  If  the 
perpetrators  of  this  outrage  against  the  law 
go  unpunished,  danger  is  added  to  danger.  No 
man's  property  or  life  will  be  safe.  They  may  take 

197 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

offence  at  you  or  at  me.  They  may  burn  our  homes 
or  attempt  our  lives.  Mob  law  is  the  boundary 
line  between  civilization  and  barbarism.  We  must 
root  it  out." 

The  sentiments  of  the  prosecutor  were  approved 
by  the  jury.    More  than  400  witnesses  were  called. 
Little  by  little  a  chain  of  evidence  was  forged. 
***** 

Poor  Bilkins.  There  were  tears  in  his  eyes  that 
day  when  he  sat  in  court  and  listened  to  the  Judge, 
He  was  the  picture  of  despair.  "Seven  years  in  the 
penitentiary,"  was  the  sentence. 

The  wife  and  the  twins  were  at  his  side  when  the 
fateful  words  were  pronounced.  The  poor  little 
woman  fainted  and  the  boys  sobbed  pitifully.  The 
lobby  looked  on  in  undisguised  sorrow.  The 
sheriff  led  Bilkins  away. 

Dave  Elder  muttered  unintelligibly  to  himself. 
"The  law  must  be  obeyed"  rang  in  his  ears.  He 
strode  over  to  Mrs.  Bilkins.  "Come  Anna,"  he 
said,  taking  her  hand,  'Til  take  you  home.  You 
and  the  babies  shall  not  suffer." 


198 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 
THE  NEW  BRIDGE. 


Profounder,  profounder, 
Man's  spirit  must  dive: 

To  his  aye-rolling  orbit 
No  goal  will  arrive. 

The  heavens  that  now  draw  him 
With  sweetness  untold, 

Once,  found,  for  new  heavens, 
He  spurneth  the  old. 

—Ralph  Waldo  Emerson. 


"Hardly  credible  in  these  enlightened  days,"  I 
exclaimed.  "After  all,  civilization  is  only  compara 
tive.  Two  hundred  years  ago,  four  hundred  years 
ago,  six  hundred  years  ago,  eight  hundred  years 
ago,  one  thousand  years  ago,  what  marvelous  prog 
ress  mankind  has  made!  Suppose  one  could  fall 
into  a  Rip  Van  Winkle  sleep  now  some  place  up  in 
the  Catskills  and  awake  two  hundred  years  hence. 
I  venture  the  prediction  that  the  world  would  be 
unrecognizable.  In  the  light  of  past  advancement 
nothing  is  impossible.  What,  anyhow,  is  the  ulti 
mate  destiny  of  man?  If,  as  one  scientist  says> 
the  earth  will  still  be  inhabitable  one  hundred  mil 
lion  years  from  now,  what  changes  are  certain  f 
Alterations  in  methods  of  living,  environment,, 
pleasures,  desires  and  ambitions  will  change  man 
physically  and  mentally.  Your  man  of  a  million 

199 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

years  from  now  may  be  as  different  from  the  man 
of  today  as  the  man  of  best  intelligence  two  hun 
dred  years  ago  was  from  the  pygmies  of  Central 
Africa  or  the  Dvoraks  of  Borneo.  If  the  atmos 
phere  of  the  earth  should  grow  rare,  Nature  would 
act  promptly  and  supply  man  with  larger  lungs. 
Larger  lungs  would  mean  a  larger  chest  and  a  man 
physically  of  different  shape  from  the  creature  of 
today.  The  tabloid  method  of  feeding,  if  persisted 
in,  may  result  in  time  in  the  di sapper ance  of  teeth. 
The  possibilities  are  boundless.  The  cultivation  of 
the  anti-greed  spirit  may  produce  a  race  of  men 
who  will  in  a  large  measure  be  alike.  Then  and 
not  till  then  will  the  dream  of  the  Socialists  be 
realized." 

"That  reminds  me,"  remarked  Raper,  "of  what  a 
noted  writer  of  two  centuries  ago  said.  I  had  oc 
casion  recently  to  look  him  up.  His  contention 
went  something  like  this:  'No  matter  how  much 
difference  there  may  be  in  the  tomorrow  of  Social 
ism  in  its  today,  when  all  of  it  shall  be  inaugurated 
as  a  system,  all  things  must  be  owned  collectively  and 
that  means  that  the  high  and  the  low  come  to  a 
common  level ;  the  good  and  the  bad  start  even ; 
the  idle  and  the  industrious  share  and  share  alike ; 
the  illiterate  and  the  learned,  the  capable  and  the 
incompetent,  the  fool  and  the  wise  man,  the  virgin 
and  the  troll,  the  negro  and  the  white,  all  come  to 
the  universal  pot,  and  ladel  out  an  equal  porringer 
full  of  pottage.  God!  What  a  sordid,  sickening 
dead  level !  What  an  enforced  equalizing  of  all 

200 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

rren  and  all  women,  in  a  world  where  God  never, 
made  two  grains  of  sand,  two  leaves  of  the  forest, 
two  birds  of  the  air,  two  fish  of  the  sea,  two  beasts 
of  the  field  exactly  equal.'  There  is  a  lot  of  truth 
in  that  and  yet  the  Socialists  have  a  good  argu 
ment  in  desiring  a  better  condition  of  mankind. 
For  that  they  are  to  be  commended.  They  may  be 
mistaken  in  their  deductions  and  yet  after  all  they 
are  simply  teaching  an  idealistic  condition,  based 
on  the  belief  that  we  all  belong  to  one  great  family 
and  that  the  concern  of  one  should  be  the  concern 
of  all.  Don't  misunderstand  me.  I  am  not  a 
Socialist,  yet  I  confess  that  many  of  the  Socialist 
doctrines  appeal  to  me.  Of  course  when  Brother 
hood  was  originally  proposed  those  ferninst  it 
shouted  Socialism,  but  not  accurately.  Brother 
hood,  it  is  true,  may  be  a  sop  to  Socialism.  Un 
doubtedly  it  is  and  yet  it  does  not  wipe  out  in 
dividuality.  It  does,  however,  put  limitations  on 
the  ability  of  any  one  man  to  profit  to  an  enormous 
extent  at  the  expense  of  the  many.  It  may  lead  up 
to  Socialism.  The  Socialists,  after  a  period  of 
somnolence,  are  again  active.  Possibly  the  en 
vironment  provided  these  days  for  mankind  gen 
erally,  real  compulsory  education  not  only  in  free 
schools  but  in  free  colleges,  and  the  inculcation 
from  the  earliest  days  of  understanding  of  the  anti- 
greed  spirit  may  in  time  result  in  Socialism  or 
something  akin  to  that.  Two  hundred  years  ago 
the  world  had  made  great  strides  in  that  direction. 
The  Socialistic  idea  seemed  to  seize  the  masses  all 

201 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

at  once  and  obtained  a  strong  foothold.  Social  and 
industrial  conditions  in  those  days  furnished  fertile 
soil  for  its  growth.  The  world  is  growing  better 
and  people  are  getting  closer  together.  The  snob 
bishness  and  arrogance  of  the  past  are  known  now 
only  in  history.  Class  distinctions,  once  so  sharply 
defined,  are  obliterated.  Who  can  say  that  the 
world  is  not  better  off  for  it  ?  The  best  capital  any 
country  can  have  is  honest,  intelligent  and  generous 
manhood." 

"Raper,  you  ought  to  go  on  the  lecture  plat 
form,"  I  asserted.  "You  talk  with  the  logic  and 
eloquence  of  a  modern  Daniel  Webster.  But  let's 
get  away  from  the  past  for  a  while.  That  lynching 
story  has  left  a  bad  taste  in  my  mouth.  Come,  let 
us  go  down  to  lunch.  I  promised  Alice  to  go  with 
her  this  afternoon  down  to  Long  Island  to  see  the 
new  botanical  gardens." 

Raper,  declaring  that  he  was  hungry  enough  to 
eat  salt  pork  and  beans,  needed  no  second  invita 
tion. 

After  lunch  I  went  up  to  the  Spangler  home,  got 
Alice,  and  with  her  started  to  carry  out  the  after 
noon's  program. 

"Oh,"  she  exclaimed,  when  we  had  reached  the 
lower  end  of  the  island,  "let  us  cross  the  river  on 
the  new  endless  belt  bridge.  The  girls  up  at  the 
house  say  it  is  great  fun." 

Now  let  it  be  explained  that  the  congestion  early 
in  the  morning  and  late  in  the  afternoon  on  the  sus 
pension  bridges,  the  ferry  boats  and  the  motor  cars, 

202 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

to  say  nothing  of  the  subways  and  pneumatic  tubes, 
had  a  few  years  before  grown  to  such  proportions 
that  a  municipal  commission  was  named  to  devise 
means  to  handle  the  crossing  crowds  in  the  so- 
called  "rush"  hours,  different,  however,  from  the 
"rush"  hours  of  long  ago  in  that  the  people  showed 
more  consideration  for  one  another. 

This  commission  finally  hit  upon  the  endless  belt 
bridge.  The  best  engineers  in  the  country  prompt 
ly  pronounced  the  plan  feasible  and  three  months 
later  the  initial  work  was  started. 

The  bridge  has  now  been  in  operation  six  years 
and  works  like  a  charm.  The  so  called  belt  is  of 
minite,  which  superseded  Bookwalter  steel  as  a 
metal  easily  shaped  and  possessing  almost  incal 
culable  strength.  This  roll  of  minite  is  five  hun 
dred  feet  wide  and  turns  at  the  rate  of  ten  miles 
per  hour  on  a  series  of  wheels,  driven  by  electric 
power  from  Niagara  Falls.  At  each  end  are  over 
lapping  rolls,  each  running  slower  and  slower,  un 
til  the  crossing  crowds  can  step  off  with  absolute 
safety.  Each  side  of  the  belt  is,  of  course,  lined 
with  strong  and  high  wire  mesh  fences,  topped  by 
flexible  guard  rails.  This  new  device,  that  is  now 
working  with  such  marked  success,  has  a  carrying 
capacity  of  8,000,000  people  per  hour.  To  prevent 
sagging,  which  the  engineers  said  would  not  be 
dangerous,  huge  arms,  built  out  at  various  angles 
from  each  abutment  and  each  containing  duplicate 
sets  of  wheels,  all  forming  an  arch,  were  construct- 

203 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

ed.  Thus  was  one  of  New  York's  greatest  prob 
lems  solved. 

Our  trip  over  was  fully  as  interesting  as  Alice 
had  anticipated.  We  took  a  position  near  the 
west  railing  and  looked  out  on  one  of  the  world's 
greatest  panoramas.  There  was  life  all  around  us 
and  above  and  below.  As  we  stood  in  silence  and 
gazed  I  ventured  the  declaration  that  two  weeks 
was  a  long  time  to  wait. 

Alice  firmly  but  gently  forbade  me  speaking  of 
the  subject  again  until  the  time  fixed. 

I  pointed  out  to  her  the  ruins  of  Fort  Hamilton 
and  the  other  structures  built  years  ago  to  guard 
the  Narrows.  With  the  disarmament  seventy-five 
years  ago  of  the  world  powers  there  was  no  longer 
need  for  great  navies  and  miles  of  fortifications. 
The  millions  that  had  been  spent  that  way  were 
later  diverted  into  educational  channels  for  the  pur 
pose  of  making  better  men  and  women  and  to 
promulgate  the  anti-greed  campaign.  Look  around 
you  today,  fellow  citizens,  and  view  the  magnificent 
results. 

Our  afternoon  at  the  botanical  gardens,  stocked 
with  the  many  old  and  new  plants,  the  latter  made 
possible  by  the  development  of  the  Burbank  idea 
in  many  different  channels  of  horticulture  and  ar 
boriculture,  was  one  of  unalloved  delight,  or  would 
have  been  for  me  had  I  been  able  to  forecast 
Alice's  momentous  answer. 

That  evening  when  I  was  back  in  the  quiet  and 
solitude  of  my  room  I  became  oppressed  with  the 

204 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

sickening  dread  that  Alice  would  remain  obdurate 
and  adhere  to  an  exaggerated  sense  of  duty.  I 
grew  sick  at  heart  at  the  prospect.  While  I  sat 
wrapped  in  gloom  Raper  bounded  into  my  room 
with  the  information  that  the  translation  of  the 
tablets  he  had  found  at  Atlantis  had  been  delivered 
to  him. 

"Wonderful,"  he  exclaimed.  Then  taking  an 
other  look  at  me,  he  added,  "Down  in  the  mouth 
again,  old  chum,  eh?  Come,  brace  up.  This  won't 
do." 


205 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
AN  AGE  AGO. 

The  fault  kings  do 
Shine  like  the  fiery  beacon  on.  a  hill, 
For  all   to  see,    and   seeing,    tremble  at. 

— Hemming' s  Fatal  Contract. 

The  translation,  of  necessity  a  most  liberal  one, 
ran  as  follows:  Having  been  chosen  by  lot  at  a 
meeting  of  the  Secret  Ten,  the  executive  body  of 
the  Order  of  Justice,  to  rid  the  country  of  King 
Marvo,  the  tyrant,  who  has  weighted  the  people 
down  with  taxes  they  can  no  longer  bear,  ruthlessly 
despoiled  homes  of  their  fairest  flowers,  made 
widows  of  the  land's  wives  and  orphans  of  their 
children,  waged  unholy  war  after  unholy  war  that 
his  passion  for  greed,  glory  and  power  might  be 
satisfied,  and  left  the  country  a  patchwork  of 
bloodied  homes,  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  leave  to  pos 
terity  a  record  of  some  of  the  more  flagrant  wrongs 
that  have  resulted  in  the  Secret  Ten's  decision. 

What  is  man,  anyhow,  under  the  dominion  of  a 
tyrant,  whose  word  is  law  and  whose  friends  are 
the  sycophantic  court  hangers  on,  who  fawn  on 
him,  feed  him  on  flattery  and  persuade  him  he  is 
the  greatest  living  ruler?  No  longer  is  a  petition 
for  improved  conditions  received.  Was  it  not  but 

206 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

last  week  that  my  kinsman,  Gonda  Klino,  bearing 
an  address  from  the  toilers,  mere  slaves,  asking  for 
clean  food  and  better  shelter,  was  laughed  at  by 
the  tyrant  and  his  courtiers,  drunken  with  wine, 
and  tossed  out  to  the  lions  to  be  eaten  alive.  My 
ears  still  ring  with  his  cries  of  agony  as  the  beasts, 
starved  to  make  the  punishment  of  offenders  more 
frightful,  tore  him  limb  from  limb?  Who  is  there 
now  to  comfort  his  wife  and  feed  his  two  little 
children,  dark  eyed  Maza,  and  little  Nana,  the  lat 
ter  little  more  than  a  babe?  It  was  but  two  weeks 
ago  yesterday  that  beautiful  Sista,  the  wife  of  my 
long  time  friend,  Tama,  was  ruthlessly  torn  from 
his  arms  and  placed  in  the  tyrant's  seralgio.  Has 
the  sun  god  forgotten  us?  I  have  ceased  to  pray, 
as  I  did  only  when  in  great  distress  of  mind.  I 
now  believe  with  my  old  teacher  that  after  all  life  is 
a  chemical  product  and  that  man  must  work  out  his 
own  destiny.  This  belief  gives  me  courage  to  act 
my  part.  Men  must  act  together  to  get  justice. 
After  all  are  we  not  brothers  and  should  we  not 
be  as  one  for  the  good  of  all? 

Marvo  is  mad,  mad  with  the  flood  of  blood  that 
his  incessant  wars  bring.  All  the  country  to  the 
East  he  aspires  to  rule.  More  power,  more  riches, 
more  glory,  is  his  never  dying  slogan.  Men,  the 
great  army  of  thousands  upon  thousands,  are  to 
him  mere  tools  to  gain  a  new  empire  or  more  gold. 
His  heart  is  as  hard  as  flint  and  cries  of  distress 
never  pass  the  high  palace  walls.  Big  of  neck,  low 
of  brow,  and  cold  of  heart,  this  monster,  Marvo, 

207 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

with  his  thick,  cruel  lips,  unsightly  leer  and  heavy, 
determined  chin,  knows  naught  of  mercy.  O,  Sun 
God,  if  you  do  really  exist,  why  do  you  allow  such 
an  infamy  as  rule  by  this  gorgon,  of  a  people,  kind, 
loving  and  just  by  nature? 

His  victorious  armies,  now  swarming  over  The 
Hellas,  will  soon  move  on  to  Egypt,  leaving  behind 
a  wide  road  of  blood,  ruin  and  pillage.  My  anger 
has  grown  since  my  boyhood  friend,  Cato  Pije, 
came  home  with  his  eyes  gouged  out  and  one  hand 
hacked  off,  a  living  monument  to  the  greed  of  this 
tyrant  for  gain.  Oh,  if  we  could  but  arouse  the 
poor,  miserable,  wretched  people  to  a  sense  of  their 
rights.  Accustomed  from  childhood  to  permit 
themselves  to  be  driven  as  slaves,  with  no  property, 
not  even  wife  or  children  sacred,  their  spirit  has 
been  crushed,  and  while  the  fire  of  rebellion  burns 
here  and  there,  who  is  there  strong  enough  to 
march  against  the  tyrant  and  end  his  inglorious 
reign  ?  No  one.  The  army,  privileged  to  go  to  any 
excess,  simply  reflects  the  cruelties  of  the  master. 

My  mind  is  made  up.  If  necessary  my  life  goes  as 
a  sacrifice  in  the  effort  to  right  our  multifarious 
wrongs.  I  shall  tomorrow  morning  enter  the 
palace,  painted  and  garbed  as  an  Egyptian,  crave 
an  audience  as  the  representative  of  the  king  and 
pretend  to  make  overtures  for  peace. 

When  the  opportunity  offers  itself  I  shall  plunge 
this  dagger  into  his  breast,  light  this  secret  powder 
and  while  it  fills  the  throne  room  with  smoke,  make 
my  escape,  crying  "Fire!  Fire!"  It  is  wrong  to 

208 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

kill.  So  we  have  been  taught  all  these  years  and 
yet  when  the  wild  beasts  enter  our  fields  and  attack 
our  flocks  we  kill  them.  Why  not  then  kill  him 
who,  judged  by  results,  is  worse  than  all  the  wild 
beasts  of  Atlantis  ? 

The  prophet  Wo  is  to  be  put  to  death.  He  has 
dared  inferentially  to  condemn  the  King.  From 
the  high  tower  day  before  yesterday,  he  exclaimed : 
"Listen,  my  brethren,  and  hear  the  cry.  The  moon 
is  red,  the  sun  is  red,  the  land  is  red.  Atlantis  is 
doomed.  It  shall  sink  from  sight  and  the  deep 
shall  roll  over  it." 

His  prophecy  was  speedily  carried  to  the  King, 
who  has  ordered  him  painted  red  from  head  to 
feet  and  placed  under  the  great  sun  glass  in  the 
court  yard,  where  he  will  turn  and  twist  in  agony 
as  the  hot  rays  make  his  flesh  burn  and  curl  up. 

If  I  fail  and  am  captured,  what  will  be  my  fate? 
Horrors !  Slow  death  on  the  rack,  death  covering 
a  period  of  seven  days.  I  have  a  right  to  shudder. 
But  I  will  not  falter.  I  have  sworn  the  irrevocable 
oath.  Some  day  I  may  be  called  patriot.  Tomor 
row  I  will  be  murderer.  Such  are  the  distinctions 
centuries  make.  •  This  screed  I  will  consign  to  the 
Secret  Ten  to  do  with  it  as  they  may  order,  per 
haps  for  another  unfortunate  to  peruse  after  he 
has  been  assigned  the  task  allotted  me,  provided  I 
fail.  What  was  that?  Another  earthquake.  These 
rumbles  grow  frequent.  They  recall  my  visit  with 
my  teacher,  Father  Vino,  to  the  Chasm  of  the  Pastf 
where  when  the  earth  split  open,  was  exposed  to 

209 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

view  the  carcasses  of  great  animals  that  must  have 
lived  ages  before.  There  is  none  like  them  now. 
One  creature  must  have  been  primitive  man.  The 
tyrant  reminds  me  of  him,  so  much  are  they  alike 
in  low  brows  and  big  necks.  This  primitive  man  was 
covered  with  long  coarse  hair,  had  great  fangs  pro 
truding  from  thick  lips  and  long  sharp  nails  on 
both  hands  and  feet.  By  his  side  was  a  club,  evi 
dently  his  only  weapon. 

Is  it  true,  as  Father  Vino  contends,  that  life  on 
this  earth  has  in  size  and  character  been  measured 
through  all  the  ages  by  the  chemical  condition  of 
the  earth  and  the  air  and  the  water  ?  O,  great  Sun 
God,  answer.  Now  in  the  hour  of  my  greatest  trial 
help  me.  *****  MV  hands  are  red  with  blood. 
Here  am  I  hidden  in  the  cave  I  learned  of  when  a 
boy.  The  tyrant  is  dead.  The  ruse  worked.  The 
cry  of  fire  diverted  attention  from  me  and  I  es 
caped.  Human  blood  hounds  are  on  my  heels.  In 
stinct  tells  me  so.  I  am  tired  and  my  limbs  refuse 
to  carry  me  further.  I  care  not  what  becomes  of 
me.  My  head  is  buzzing  and  my  eyes  heavy.  How 
horrible  to  stain  one's  hands  with  human  blood ! 
My  heart  seems  to  be  in  my  throat  and  about  to 
choke  me.  Ah,  that  is  better.  I  have  made  an 
effort,  feeble  as  it  is,  to  brace  up,  and  await  the 
inevitable.  Death  has  no  terrors  for  me.  It  was 
life  that  presented  the  gloomy  prospect.  Have  I 
acted  wisely  ?  Who  will  profit  by  my  act  ?  No  one. 
There  will  be  another  tyrant  to  rule  as  badly  as 
Marvo  did.  It  is  the  system  that  is  wrong.  Some 

210 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

day,  an  age  from  now,  all  will  be  changed  and  there 
will  be  no  more  tyrants.  Then  men  will  live  hap 
pily,  free  from  strife,  from  wars,  great  wastes  that 
they  are,  and  from  the  thousand  and  one  wrongs 
that  oppress  today.  O  that  I  could  live  to  see  that 
day.  It  is  growing  dark.  I  cannot  see  to  write 
more.  My  hand  grows  weak  and  palsied.  Great 
Sun  God,  they  are  coming.  They  will  rend  me  to 
pieces.  These  butchers  of  the  king  know  no  mercy. 
Hear  their  hoarse  cries.  They  know  they  have  me 
trapped.  My  throat  is  as  dry  as  an  oven  and  my 
tongue  is  swollen.  I  am  lost.  I  cannot  see  more. 

A  note  on  the  last  tablet  explains  that  the  parch 
ment  on  which  the  above  was  written  was  found 
later  in  the  cave  by  friends  of  the  man  who  was 
slaughtered  by  the  king's  emissaries,  carefully  pre 
served  and  five  hundred  years  later  transmitted  to 
tablets  and  placed  in  the  library  of  the  capital  city 
of  Atlantis. 


211 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 
SUNDAY  AT  CHURCH. 

Love   never   fails;    though    knowledge    cease, 
Though  prophecies  decay, 

Love— Christian  love,  shall  still  increase, 
Shall  extend  her  sway. 

—William  Peter. 

When  I  called  the  next  Sunday  morning  at  the 
Spangler  home  to  take  Alice  to  church  she  was  un 
usually  grave,  forcing  me  to  believe  that  after  all 
the  fond  hopes  I  had  entertained,  ultimate  rejection 
was  to  be  my  fate.  The  day  was  a  beautiful  one 
and  the  last  on  which  depression  should  have  ex 
isted.  The  subject  dearest  to  me  was  tabooed.  I 
must  maintain  silence  on  it  until  Alice  gave  me  per 
mission  to  speak.  We  had  decided  to  attend  ser 
vices  in  the  Church  Universale  in  Fifth  avenue.  It 
was  a  great  pile  of  brick  and  stone,  stately  and  im 
posing  in  architecture,  both  in  exterior  and  in 
terior.  Its  principal  beauty  was  found  in  its  in 
effable  grace  and  simplicity.  Great  bunches  of 
fragrant  flowers  filled  vases  standing  at  various 
points  of  vantage.  The  church,  which  with  its 
great  galleries,  had  a  seating  capacity  of  six  thou 
sand,  was  well  filled  when  we  entered.  There  were 
no  private  pews,  and  no  places  of  special  advantage 
to  be  purchased  with  money.  Absolute  equality  as 

212 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

to  the  occupancy  of  pews  prevailed.  Had  there 
been  beggars  in  the  street,  they  would  have  been 
received  with  as  warm  a  welcome  as  those  able  to 
garb  themselves  in  silks  and  satins  and  broadcloth. 
Fortunately  under  Brotherhood  rule  there  are  no 
beggars  today  and  no  tramps.  Both  long  ago  were 
relegated  to  the  past  by  elimination,  made  possible 
by  proper  education  and  good  government.  The 
music — the  word  sublime  describes  it  better  than 
any  other.  The  form  of  service  was  a  composite  of 
that  which  had  prevailed  in  Christian  lands  in  the 
past,  neither  too  ornate,  too  garish  nor  too  plain.  It 
met  all  requirements.  The  Church  Universale  was 
based  on  the  simple  and  logical  proposition  that  all 
men  are  brothers  and  that  all  of  their  relations  in 
life,  social  or  business,  should  be  brotherly,  free 
from  cant,  greed  and  jealousy.  This  doctrine  is  re 
ligiously  taught  all  school  children  from  the  primer 
clear  down  through  the  curriculum  to  algebra  and 
rhetoric.  This  education  is  compulsory  and  its 
beneficent  results  are  apparent  in  the  peace,  pros 
perity  and  happiness  enjoyed  by  the  Brotherhood 
people,  the  envied  of  all  mankind.  The  Church 
Universale  was  the  natural  evolution  of  the  friendly 
feeling  that  dominated  all  Christian  churchmen  two 
centuries  ago.  The  hostile  spirit  that  once  was  dis 
played  gave  way  as  the  partisans  of  this  denomi 
nation  or  of  that  sect  began  to  realize  with  the 
broadening  of  general  intelligence  that  all  were 
actuated  by  the  same  general  spirit,  no  difference 
how  much  their  forms  of  worship  and  methods  of 

213 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

church  government  might  differ  about  petty  details. 
Thus  it  was  that  Catholics,  Methodists,  Baptists, 
Congregationalists,  Presbyterians  and  the  various 
other  denominations  began  to  get  closer  together  and 
to  find  something  to  admire  in  their  fellow  religion 
ists.  Where  once  intolerance  had  ruled  and  acri 
mony  had  resulted  over  finely  drawn  points  of  doc 
trine,  fraternizing  began  that  ultimately  ended  in 
the  amalgamation  of  all  churches,  with  one  object 
in  common  in  view.  Ascendancy  was  given  to  the 
principle  of  correct  living  on  earth  and  less  atten 
tion  paid  to  mooted  points,  hinging  on  the  doctrines 
of  predestination,  infant  baptism,  sanctification  and 
eternal  punishment.  No  preacher  longer  promul 
gated  the  cruel  and  revolting  idea  of  a  hell  with  a 
lake  of  brimstone,  demons  with  tridents  and  red 
hot  furnaces  all  kept  ready  for  sinners  tumbled 
down  the  opening  from  Earth. 

The  minister  occupying  the  pulpit  that  morning 
was  the  Rev.  John  Clark  Hill,  who  smiled  benign 
ly  on  his  congregation  as  he  took  his  place  in  the 
pulpit,  announced  a  hymn  and  then  joined  with 
zest  in  the  congregational  singing  of  it.  It  was  sig 
nificant  that  there  were  no  hypocritical  faces  in 
the  great  gathering.  As  a  rule  the  face  is  a  good 
index  to  the  thoughts.  It  is  difficult  to  hide  the 
beauty  and  generosity  of  a  good  heart.  They 
are  bound  to  crop  out  in  the  eyes,  in  the 
mouth  and  in  the  expression.  The  culti 
vated  goodness  of  the  Brotherhood  people  was 
evident  in  every  face.  It  was  unusual  to  see  one 

214 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

that  had  a  tired,  worried  look.  Ideal  life  had  been 
reached.  And  that  singing!  None  of  it  was  done 
perfunctorily.  There  was  a  volume  of  melodious 
sound  that  truly  made  the  welkin  ring. 

Then  the  pastor  read  the  lesson,  Christ's  ser 
mon  on  the  Mount,  in  which  all  of  the  philosophy 
of  the  past  had  been  boiled  down.  There  was 
rapt  attention  as  he  read:  "Whosoever  therefore 
shall  break  one  of  these  least  commandments  and 
shall  teach  men  so,  shall  be  called  least  in  the  king 
dom  of  heaven:  but  whosoever  shall  do  and  teach 
them,  he  shall  be  called  great  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  For  I  say  unto  you  that  except 
your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the  righteousness 
of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  wise 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Lay  not  up  for 
yourselves  treasures  upon  the  earth,  where  moth 
and  rust  shall  consume,  and  where  thieves  break 
through  and  steal,  but  lay  up  for  yourselves 
treasures  in  heaven,  where  neither  moth  nor  rust 
doth  consume  and  where  thieves  do  not  break 
through  nor  steal ;  for  where  thy  treasure  is  there 
will  thy  heart  be  also." 

The  sermon  that  followed  was  simple,  plain  and 
direct,  free  from  circumlocution,  pedantry  or  affec 
tation.  It  went  right  to  the  hearts  of  the  speaker's 
hearers  and  I  believe  prompted  all  present  to  cling 
with  added  fervor  to  the  principles  of  ideal  exist 
ence.  It  is  almost  superfluous  to  explain  that  the 
Church  Universale  is  institutional  in  character  and 
that  it  provides  with  work  shop,  gymnasium  and 

215 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

entertainments  for  the  wants  of  the  young. 

The  day  was  so  bright  and  so  beautiful  that 
Alice  and  I  walked  home,  enjoying  every  minute  of 
the  bright  sunshine  and  bracing  air. 

Alice  rather  startled  me  when  she  asked:  "Do 
you  b'elieve  in  reincarnation?" 

"I  am  not  sure  I  do,"  I  replied.  "It  is  a  sub 
ject  to  which  I  have  given  more  or  less  study.  I 
have  also  made  some  investigation  along  the  same 
line,  none  of  which  is  convincing  or  conclusive.  I 
believe  firmly  in  the  indestructibility  of  matter  and 
the  recurrence  of  matter  apparently  destroyed  in 
some  new  chemical  form,  which  you  may  express 
by  whatsoever  mysterious  symbols  you  please.  I 
know  there  has  recently  been  quite  a  revival  of  the 
idea  and  that  the  esoteric  now  commands  more  at 
tention  than  it  ever  did  before.  The  doctrine  is  an 
old  one  and  has  its  millions  of  firm  followers 
among  the  Brahmins  and  Buddhists,  some  of 
whom  are  among  the  greatest  philosophers  and 
scholars  in  the  world.  I  have  had  some  experi 
ences  myself  that  have  left  me  in  doubt.  All  of  my 
teachings  and  my  intuition  prompt  me  to  believe 
that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  reincarnation  as 
taught  by  the  Orientals  and  yet  if  I  had  come  from 
a  race  that  believes  in  it  and  had  been  taught  it 
from  the  first  I  am  confident  that  I  should  believe 
in  it." 

"I  have  had  some  queer  experiences  in  studying 
the  subject,"  mused  Alice,  for  the  moment,  I 
thought,  almost  unconscious  of  my  presence. 

216 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

"They  have  left  me  impressions  I  wish  I  could 
shake  off.  It  is  not  easy  sometimes  to  decide 
where  reality  ends  and  imagination  begins.  The 
line  of  demarcation  is  at  times  exceedingly  faint." 

"What's  the  use  of  taking  seriously  what  it  is  im 
possible  to  be  certain  about,"  I  urged.  "You  re 
member  the  motto  of  the  old  French  savant,  'when 
in  doubt  don't.'  " 

Alice  turned  and  looked  at  me  curiously.  She 
was  still  grave  and  to  a  certain  sense  preo'ccupied. 
Had  I  said  something  that  had  added  to  her  ob 
vious  bewilderment? 

We  reached  the  Spangler  home  and  parted  with 
tenderness  characteristic  of  a  couple  whose  future 
might  be  bound  indissolubly  together.  During  the 
remainder  of  the  day  the  conviction  grew  on  me 
that  Alice  would,  on  the  eventful  day  fixed  at  her 
home  in  Fratersurb,  repeat  the  answer  she  had 
given  me  on  the  night  I  had  proposed,  with  the 
moon  and  the  stars  as  silent  witnesses  of  the  depth 
of  my  affection  and  the  honesty  and  sincerity  of  my 
surrender. 


217 


CHAPTER  XXX. 
BACK  TO  THE  CAPITAL. 

From  that  day  forth,  in.  peace  and  joyous  bliss 
They  lived  together  long  without  'debate; 

Nor  private  jars,  nor  spit€  of  enemies, 
Could  shake  the  safe  assurance  of  their  state. 

— Spencer's  Fairy  Queen. 

N.  B.  The  final  chapter  of  this  narrative  was 
written  by  Raper,  the  newspaper  man,  for  reasons 
that  will  appear  later. 

Bob  Young  was  burning  with  impatience  when 
he  returned  to  Fratersurb.  It  was  almost  impos 
sible  to  calm  him.  He  feared  that  instead  of  help 
ing  matters  his  injunction,  "When  in  doubt,  don't," 
would  operate  to  his  disadvantage,  in  fact  might  be 
the  cap  sheaf  to  the  shock  of  argument  already 
built  by  Alice  Meredith  against  marriage.  His 
worry  was  intense  and  the  night  before  the  date 
fixed  for  the  answer  to  be  given  him  he,  from  sheer 
anxiety,  did  not  sleep.  At  the  last  minute  he  lost 
confidence  in  my  claim  that  I  would  soon  receive 
an  invitation  to  be  best  man  at  his  wedding.  To 
add  to  his  cares,  Father  Gladstone  summoned  him 
for  a  final  lecture,  preparatory  to  his  elevation  to 
one  of  the  highest  places  in  the  Brotherhood  do 
main — highest  in  the  sense  of  equipment  to  promul- 

218 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

gate  Brotherhood  doctrines.  Bob,  my  old  chum, 
was  as  nervous  as  a  school  girl  about  to  read 
her  commencement  essay,  when  he  stood  up  before 
Father  Gladstone  in  the  latter's  study  and  received 
his  charge.  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  present. 
I  will  not  repeat  all  that  Father  Gladstone  said  on 
the  momentous  occasion.  True,  it  is  all  worthy 
of  reproduction,  but  you,  kind  reader,  are  most  in 
terested  now,  I  assume,  in  the  termination  of  my 
friend's  love  affairs.  That  which  Father  Gladstone 
said  that  most  appealed  -to  me  was  this :  "Your  life 
will  be  full  of  important  responsibilities.  Eternal 
vigilance  on  your  part  is  necessary  to  keep  alive 
Brotherhood  doctrines,  to  see  that  there  is  no  retro 
gression  and  in  particular  to  see  that  any  outcrop- 
pings  of  once  dominant  greed  are  summarily  dealt 
with.  Some  men  will  always  lead.  The  Brother 
hood  has  aimed  by  persistent  education  to  see  that 
they  lead  aright.  The  past  is  full  of  striking  rea 
sons  why  there  should  be  no  lapsing  into  the  old 
ways.  Always  be  aggressive  in  publishing  Brother 
hood  ideas.  In  the  past  it  was  originally  pointed 
out  that  Brotherhood  could  never  be  successful  be 
cause  of  the  varying  mental,  moral  and  physical 
strength  of  men.  This  was  the  most  cogent  argu 
ment  made  against  us.  We,  of  necessity,  admitted 
the  varying  qualities  of  men  and  answered  that  we 
did  not  expect  nor  wish  to  make  all  men  alike,  but 
instead  desired  to  eliminate  from  our  social  struc 
ture  the  admittedly  gross  inequalities  that  had 
grown  up  with  the  world's  industries  and  com- 

219 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

merce.  Then  the  specious  argument  was  made  that 
it  was  our  purpose  to  deprive  men  of  their  just  re 
ward  for  those  qualities,  known  as  energy,  enter 
prise,  push,  nerve  and  genius.  We  answered  that 
the  contention  was  a  mistake,  that  we  believed  in 
rewarding  those  exhibiting  special  industry  but  also 
believed  in  placing  a  limitation  on  the  magnitude 
of  the  reward.  The  wisdom  of  our  contention  has 
been  proved  in  so  many  different  ways  that  one 
who  now  questioned  it  would  at  once  be  denomin 
ated  an  imbecile.  Contrary  to  claims  made  Brother 
hood  has  not  put  a  check  on  the  world's  progress, 
but  by  producing  general  satisfaction  with  the  order 
of  things,  has  stimulated  activity  in  all  of  the  arts, 
sciences  and  industries.  Never  waver.  We  are 
right.  The  world  is  better  and  the  people  happier. 
These  two  facts  are  the  quintessence  of  the  whole 
story." 

At  any  other  time  my  friend  would  have  been 
deeply  stirred  by  these  admonitions.  There  arc 
times  in  every  man's  life  when  love  will  gain  the 
ascendancy.  Bob  Young  had  reached  that  stage. 

In  the  meantime,  while  he  was  eagerly  watching 
the  clock  for  the  approach  of  the  hour  fixed  for 
him  to  learn  his  fate,  I  was  not  idle.  By  strategy 
I  managed  to  get  away  from  his  side  long  enough 
to  call  at  the  Meredith  home.  I  had  met  the 
daughter  of  the  house  once  before.  As  tactfully 
as  I  could  I  explained  my  mission,  which  was  to 
inform  Miss  Meredith  of  Bob's  awful  dread  that 
she  would  again  reject  him.  The  situation  was  a 

220 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

delicate  one  for  me  and  a  false  word  might  have 
done  a  world  of  harm.  I  prefaced  my  statement 
with  the  explanation  that  Bob  did  not  know  of 
my  presence  or  of  my  intentions,  which  were  hon 
estly  to  do  all  I  could  to  bring  two  loving  hearts 
together.  Of  course  some  may  argue  at  this  point 
that  "Faint  heart  ne'er  won  fair  lady,"  and  that  if 
Bob  did  not  remain  firm  and  courageous  to  the  end 
he  did  not  deserve  the  prize.  I  cannot  agree  with 
them  because  there  are  mitigating  circumstances, 
including  the  somewhat  distressing  and  discourag 
ing  fact  that  he  had  been  rejected  once  before  for 
reasons  that  were  yet  a  mystery  to  him. 

Miss  Meredith  listened  to  me  with  every  courtesy 
and  with  characteristic  good  sense.  She  was  not 
offended,  but  on  the  contrary  appeared  to  be  grate 
ful  to  me  for  the  interest  I  was  taking  in  their  af 
fairs.  She  listened  as  I  summarized  the  situation, 
paying  special  attention  to  my  statement  of  Bob's 
anxiety,  misgivings  and  dread.  Throughout  the 
long  narrative,  which  was  possibly  somewhat  inco 
herent,  considering  the  embarrassment  I  at  first  la 
bored  under,  she  was  most  patient.  When  she  had 
heard  me  through,  she  turned  to  her  diary,  which 
lay  on  a  nearby  stand,  found  page  141  and  calm 
ly  said,  "Read." 

I  began  what  was  sacred  and  never  intended  for 
my  eyes.  The  girl  knew  how  close  I  had  been 
to  Bob,  through  years  of  intimate  association 
and  her  confidence  in  me  was  unshaken.  I 
consider  this  the  highest  compliment  that  was 

221 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

ever  paid  me.  I  read:  "Dear  Bob  tonight  asked 
me  to  be  his  wife.  I  had  been  so  impressed  by  my 
studies  of  reincarnation  and  my  duties  to  Brother 
hood  that  I  refused  him.  I  told  him  by  way  of  ex 
planation  that  I  should  never  marry.  Now  that  he 
is  gone  and  possibly  lost  to  me  forever,  I  know 
my  heart  better.  I  love  him  dearly,  better  than 
anyone  else  in  all  the  world.  Was  I  right?  Have 
I  been  misled?  Have  I  taken  a  too  serious  view 
of  the  situation?  After  all,  did  I  really  see  into 
the  past  or  was  that  only  a  phantasm?  Someone 
has  said  that  one  can  believe  almost  anything  by  as 
siduous  study  within  the  boundary  lines  of  the  sub 
ject.  Is  it  true  that  my  great  great  grandmother 
was  a  stony-hearted,  selfish  snob,  given  up  to  gar 
ish  display,  and  who  with  vast  wealth,  treated 
the  suffering  and  even  the  starving  under  the 
shadow  of  her  home,  with  a  cruelty  and  indiffer 
ence  hard  to  believe?  That  is  what  I  saw  in  my 
vision.  I  know  that  at  one  time  such  people  ex 
isted.  If  it  be  true  that  my  near  ancestor  was  such 
a  person,  my  humiliation  would  be  so  great  that  in 
these  days  of  Brotherhood  I  would  be  ashamed  to 
face  the  world  with  the  guilty  knowledge.  *  *  : 
Today  I  sent  Bob  a  message  that  I  loved  him. 
Five  minutes  later,  considering  the  admission 
a  weakness,  I  was  ready  to  recall  ft. .  *  *  *  *  I 
have  had  papa  look  up  my  great  great  grand 
mother's  history  and  I  find  that  it  is  about  as  I  saw 
it.  How  can  the  truthful  vision  be  explained? 
People  often  see  things  for  the  first  time  in  dreams 

222 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

that  are  striking  in  their  accuracy.  Some  see  a 
portrayal  of  future  events  that  proves  correct.  What 
freak  of  the  mind  is  it?  What  is  it  that  is  still  a 
mystery  to  the  best  metaphysicians?  Papa's  rev 
elation  has  brought  back  my  doubts  about  marry 
ing.  *  *  *  *  Mr.  Young  had  a  Chinese  girl  in 
his  arms  today.  Horrid  creature!  I  never  want 
to  see  him  again.  I  believed  in  him  absolutely.  I 
feel  so  badly  I  could  cry.  *  *  *  *  My  mind  is 
made  up.  I  shall  never  marry.  *  *  *  *  And  to 
think  that  I  accused  Bob  unjustly.  He  saved  the 
girl's  life.  Good,  brave  Bob.  What  do  I  care 
anyhow  about  the  foibles  of  my  great  great  grand 
mother.  *  *  *  *  Bob  was  at  the  ball  last  night. 
T  was  awfully  glad  to  see  him.  I  have  promised 
to  give  him  an  answer  in  two  weeks.  *  *  *  *  Bob 
will  be  here  tomorrow  night.  I  am  so  glad." 

The  ink  in  which  the  latter  statement  was  writ 
ten  showed  that  it  was  not  many  hours  old. 

I  felt  happy  on  Bob's  account.  I  already 
fancied  myself  at  the  altar  in  the  role  of  best  man. 
The  strains  of  Mendelssohn's  wedding  march  were 
ringing  in  my  ears. 

''Miss  Meredith,"  I  said,  "I  greatly  appreciate 
the  confidence  you  have  reposed  in  me.  I  think 
you  have  done  right  and  violated  no  correct 
womanly  reserve.  Little  things  sometimes  lead  to 
grave  misunderstandings.  So  in  this  case.  Bob 
has  been  looking  into  his  past  and  fancies  that  he 
was  once  a  cheap  peanut  politician,  a  ward  heeler, 
and  a  'thirty  cent'  boss.  Admitting  for  the  sake  of 

223 


EVE  AND  THE  EVANGELIST. 

argument  that  you  have  really  seen  into  the  past, 
which  I  doubt,  is  there  on  that  account  any  real, 
sane  reason  why  two  lives  should  be  blighted  be 
cause  of  what  some  ancestor,  or  you  or  he  in  a 
former  existence  did  ?  It  is  all  nonsense." 

Miss  Meredith  looked  thanks  from  her  bright 
eyes.  She  said  with  fervor,  "I  thank  you  very 
much  for  what  you  have  done." 

I  felt  that  the  interview  was  at  an  end  and  left. 

Because  I  was  not  permitted  to  be  present  I  do 
not  know  what  was  said  that  night  when  the  two 
lovers  met,  one  at  first  filled  with  doubt,  the  other 
happy  in  the  revocation  of  a  decision  once  made 
and  announced. 

The  wedding  was  a  memorable  affair  and  I  was 
best  man  as  I  told  Bob  I  would  be.  He  got  me 
away  from  the  jam  at  the  reception  over  into  a  cor 
ner  long  enough  to  almost  crush  my  hand  and  ex 
claim  :  "Old  chum,  I  am  your  debtor  for  life." 

Rice  throwing  before  that  had  always  appeared 
barbarous  to  me.  Now  I  know  the  joy  of  it. 

END. 


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LIBRARY,   UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  DAVIS 

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PS3535 
Rice,  H.E.  1226 

Eve  and  the  evange-    E8 
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LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
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